OUR- HEROES 

UNITED BRETHREN 
HOME -MISSIONARIES 



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Denominational Mission 
• Study Course • 




Class 3E^yj2^7_£i5Lic? 

Book ■ US\ /y/ ^ 
Copyright N° 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




PHILIP WILLIAM OTTERBEIN 



DENOMINATIONAL MISSION 
STUDY COURSE 



OUR HEROES 

OR 

United Brethren Home 
Missionaries 



By 

W. M. WEEKLEY, D.D. 

Bishop/ of West District 

H. H. FOUT, D.D. 

Editor Sunday-School Literature 



Introduction by 

J. P. LANDIS, Ph.D., D.D. 

Dean Union Biblical Seminary 






UNITED BRETHREN 
HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY 

004 U. B. Building 
Dayton, Ohio 

t 7 Wj 



LfgftARY of C0NGR£3s]| 

J wo Qopies Keceivea 

AUG 12 )»08 

CLASS A XXC. Mu. 



COPY 6, 



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Copyright 1908, by 

United Brethren Home Missionary Society 

Dayton, Ohio 



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$ 



jForetootO 

It has not been our aim, in the preparation of the fol- 
lowing chapters, to give a connected history of the 
Church, hut rather to present briefly the lives of a few 
of the haroes who wrought so nobly in the early days 
of the various conferences named. 

Very much that the book contains never appeared in 
print before. This, no doubt, will interest the reader; 
and the Church at large, we are sure, will appreciate 
the fact that so much historical data have been gathered 
up and put into permanent form. A few years more, 
with others of the landmarks removed, and no little of 
this would have been lost beyond recovery. 

Our task has been both pleasant and difficult. Pleas- 
ant, because in studying pioneer achievements we were 
constantly in communion with the brave and good, and 
experienced the thrill of a new purpose in our own lives ; 
difficult, owing to the fact that but few of our missionary 
frontiersmen kept a diary, or received extended notice 
through the Telescope, or other publications. Some of 
whom we have written deserve a much fuller notice 
than we were able to give them. 

When we began to survey the field of heroes, it soon 
became apparent that we could not, in our limited space, 
mention all who had been prominent in carving out the 
foundations on which those who followed them were to 
build. Many whose names do not appear were and are 
worthy in every respect. Be it far from any of us to 
covet their crowns. 

The reader will observe that east of the Mississippi 
River reference is made only to the fathers who have 
gone from us, while in the West several who are still 
living receive notice. In the older and more densely pop- 
ulated portions of the Church the number meriting recog- 
nition, of course, is much larger than in newer sections. 
The period covered in the East reaches back more than 
a century. In the West, Iowa excepted, the Church was 
not known prior to 1850. Some of the fields now 
occupied by us were only entered in recent years, hence 
many of the preachers who were first on the ground, and 



who sacrificed and suffered most in establishing United 
Brethrenism, are still living. To refuse these noble, 
consecrated men the recognition they deserve would be 
unjust. "Honor to whom honor is due" has been our 
motto. 

Since undertaking this work, however, we have decided 
to publish another volume, and a third, if need be, in 
order to include at least the more prominent among the 
Church's pioneers. In fact, a part of the material for 
another and similar publication is already in our hands. 
This statement is made not only to the Church at large, 
but especially to assure the brethren who have kindly 
furnished us personal reminiscences, and other informa- 
tion, that ere long what they have written will be used. 
It is to be regretted exceedingly that in some cases no 
record of any kind was kept. Many an earnest, success- 
ful toiler in the vanguard of the Church has quietly and 
almost unnoticed dropped out of the ranks in obedience 
to the death summons, and sleeps at present in an un- 
marked grave. No printed page tells the story of his useful 
life. Those who constitute the Church to-day, with few- 
exceptions, do not know that such heroes ever lived. We 
must be content with the thought that all is written in 
God's book. 

Our purpose in preparing and publishing this volume 
has been to present to the Church, and especially to her 
young people, such a picture of our heroes and their 
achievements as will lead to a larger appreciation of their 
work, and inspire to a more ardent love and zealous service 
for the Church under whose banner they toiled as pioneer 
missionaries and nation builders. 

We owe a debt of acknowledgment and gratitude to 
friends in various sections of the country who have so 
kindly and generously assisted in the preparation of this 
volume by gathering and furnishing material. 

If the perusal of what is here presented shall lead to 
a larger study of the Church's work, and at the same 
time broaden the reader's conception of home mission 
work in its true relation to the universal spread of the 
truth, we will be satisfied. 

AUTHORS. 



Content0 



Chapter Page 

I. Genesis of the United Brethren Church.. 11 

II. The Saint Paul of the Church 20 

Christian Newcomer. 

III. Pioneer Missionaries in Ohio 33 

Andrew Zeller — George Beneduin — Joseph 
Hoffman — Henry Kumler, Sr. 

IV. First Missionary in Indiana 44 

John George Pfrimmer. 

V. First English-Speaking Missionary 56 

John Calvin McNamar. 

VI. First Missionary to the "Black SWxImp'V . . 63 
Jacob Baulus. 

VII. "The Old Man Eloquent" 73 

William Davis. 

VIII. A Pioneer Missionary in Western Pennsyl- 
vania 84 

Jacob Ritter. 

IX. A Missionary Hero in the "Western Re- 
serve" 96 

Alexander Biddle. 

X. Leader of the Advance Guard to Oregon . . 107 
Thomas Jefferson Connor. 

XL First Missionary to Michigan 118 

Stephen Lee. 

XII. First Missionary to Tennessee 129 

John Ruebush. 

XIII. Founder of the "Home, Frontler, and For- 
eign Missionary Society" 141 

John Collins Bright. 

XIV. A Pioneer in Missionary and Educational 

Work 151 

Jacob Bruner Resler. 

XV. A Hero of Lower Wabash Conference 160 

Walton Claybourne Smith. 

XVI. Leader and Organizer of Work in West 

Virginia 171 

Zebedee Warner. 



Chapter Page 

XVII. Our Heroes in Iowa 181 

John Burns — A. A. Sellers — John Everhart. 

XVIII. Our Heroes in Iowa — (Continued) 192 

D. M. Harvey — Abner Corbin — George 
Miller. 

XIX. Early Minnesota Workers 205 

Edmund Clow — J. W. Fulkerson. 

XX. The Work in Missouri 213 

M. Brateher. 

XXI. Kansas Pioneers 221 

William A. Cardwell— S. S. Snyder — 
Josiata. Terrell. 

XXII. Trying Times Among Kansas Pioneers 231 

G. M. Huffman— John R. Meredith. 

XXIII. Other Kansas Pioneers 238 

J. R. Evans— J. R. Chambers— R. W. Parks 
— F. P. Smith— C. U. McKee. 

XXIV. Pioneers in Colorado 254 

XXV. Pioneers in Nebraska 262 

William P. Caldwell— Elijah W. Johnson- 
George Fembers. 

XXVI. Brave Men in California 273 

Israel Sloan — David Thompson — B. B. Allen 
— J. Dollarhide. 

XXVII. Brave Men in California — (Continued)... 282 
Daniel Shuek— C. W. Gillett 

XXVIII. Pioneer Workers in Oregon 292 

J. Kenoyer— C. C. Bell. 

XXIX. Columbia River Conference Heroes 305 

William Daugherty — Washington Adams — 
J. S. Rhoads. 

XXX. First Workers in Oklahoma 315 

J. M. Linsey— D. L. Doub— J. H. Darr. 

XXXI. Our Debt to the Pioneer 326 

XXXII. The Harvest 330 



SnttoDuction 



It is a very auspicious omen that the churches are 
beginning to study in a somewhat systematic way the 
great work of missions. Many benefits will result from 
this. First, it will inevitably bring many persons to a 
clearer, truer conception of what the Church is and what 
it is for. Many seem to regard it as a religious club which 
does not even exact of its members the usual club obliga- 
tions. It is respectable and probably even advantageous 
to belong to church, for this may serve as a voucher of 
good character and add to business patronage. 

Others seem to regard the church as a vehicle and the 
members as passengers to be comfortably and safely con- 
veyed from this world to the heavenly mansions. 

All these enter the church from selfish motives, simply 
for their own good, with an eye to their temporal and 
eternal advantage, trying to curry favor in this way with 
the Almighty. 

But the mission, aim, and end of the church are to con- 
quer the whole world for Christ. Buddhism, Confucianism, 
Hinduism, Mohammedanism, and all other false religions 
are to be displaced by Christianity. Pantheism, ration- 
alism, materialism, atheism, and agnosticism are to be 
overthrown; intemperance, gambling, unchastity, oppres- 
sion, tyranny, covetousness, dishonor, dishonesty, and 
cruelty are to be done away. Is not this a large program? 
Until this is done, the kingdom of God or kingdom of 
heaven cannot be established in the earth, wherein the 
will of God is done as it is in heaven. 

Now, the church is nothing if not missionary. Her very 
spirit and genius are missionary. It is necessary to see 
and feel this before we shall have the wish, the will, the 
enthusiasm, the energy to make good that great final com- 
mand of our Lord, "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of 
all the nations." The study of missions will largely con- 



tribute to this, until we shall take an optimistic pride in 
the marvelous achievements of the truth of which the 
church is the custodian and the propagator. The regenera- 
tion of whole tribes, as also of individual sinners, witnesses 
to the divinity of our religion. 

The effects of Christian truth on such examples of de- 
pravity as Jerry McAuley and Samuel H. Hadley, thieves, 
bummers, thugs, liars, plug-uglies, who became very saints 
of light, itself shows the supernatural power of this truth. 
The study of missions makes us familiar with these "mir- 
acles of grace." Besides, there is no little educational 
effect to be derived from such study, which has so often 
been adverted to that I need here only to mention it. 

It is very important to note that the study of missions 
no longer denotes attention only to what the church is 
doing in foreign lands, but includes her work in the home 
land in the slums, in the neglected sections of our cities, 
and in the frontier settlements — what we now call "home 
missions." 

When we consider the many problems which confront 
the church in the United States, identical in part with 
those with which the United States Government has to 
grapple — problems which have been so graphically and 
forcefully presented by Doctor Strong in "The Challenge 
of the City," including the rapid and enormous accumula- 
tions of private and corporate wealth, "The Problem of 
Environment," and that of the people, noting especially 
the great influx of foreigners from every country under 
heaven, we see something of their gravity. As Mr. J. E. 
McAfee said at the Pittsburg convention: "From the ends 
of the earth they come . . . : Italian, Bulgarian, Bohe- 
mian, Moravian, Croatian, Slovenian, Dalmatian, Ruthe- 
nian, Roumanian, Norwegian, Armenian; East Indian, 
West Indian, Lithuanian, Hertzogovinian ; Russian, Ser- 
vian, Syrian, African, Cuban, Austrian; Polish, Turkish, 
Irish, Finnish, Flemish, English, Spanish, Danish; Chinese, 
Portuguese, Japanese; French and German, Dutch and 
Welsh, Magyar and Scotch, Korean and Montenegrin, 
Greek and Hebrew." If all these are to be Christianized, 
the church surely has a great work on her hands. If they 
are not Christianized, what will presently become of our 
Protestant, evangelical faith and works in this land? and 
what will happen to our morals and our American institu- 
tions? 

Scores of thousands of our citizens are entirely ignorant 
of these conditions; scores of thousands of our church- 
members know nothing whatever of the situation. But so 
long as they remain ignorant of these things they can take 
no interest in them nor help to remedy them. The study 
of home missions will dispel this ignorance, awaken inter- 
est, and enlist effort. 



Every church-member should, as far as he can, be intelli- 
gent on the subject of church problems, the claims of the 
community and the country upon her, and her consequent 
obligations. Surely it is no credit to a Christian man to be 
ignorant of what Christian work is in progress or what 
ought to be done. This holds good of the individual mem- 
ber of any individual denomination. As a United Breth- 
ren, one should desire to know as much as he can about 
his denomination, her past history, her present status, her 
work, her prospects, her spirit and genius. Familiarity 
with these will cause one to be a better United Brethren. 
I do not mean this in a sectarian or narrow sense, but in 
the sense that he will have more active interest in her 
undertakings, and he will see that he need not take on an 
apologetic look and tone the moment some one inquires to 
what church he belongs. 

Some of us have been speaking of our foreign mission- 
aries as "our heroes," "our jewels." A perusal of the pages 
of this book will make clear that the pioneers of our 
Church in many parts of our country, and especially west 
of the Mississippi River, have confronted as many and 
great dangers and have undergone as great hardships and 
suffered as great privations as those who have gone to 
China or India or Africa. Some have lived in sheds, in 
sod houses, have received almost no salaries, have traveled 
their circuits of hundreds of miles on foot, have suffered 
hunger — the wolf being often actually at the door; in 
danger from murderous Indians; they, their wives, and 
their babies have suffered from frozen ears, fingers, and 
feet, have wandered on the prairies in fierce blizzards with 
the mercury twenty and more degrees below zero — why? 
Certainly not for the salaries they received; surely not for 
the ecclesiastical emoluments heaped upon them, but for 
the gospel's sake and because they were bent on saving 
souls. 

The authors have well named their volume "Our Heroes." 
Some of these brave, sacrificing souls are still living and 
are earnestly at work for the Lord. Those of us who shall 
study this book will thank Bishop Weekley and Doctor 
Pout for bringing to the light this array of interesting, 
instructive, and often pathetic facts. The names of these 
"heroes" are indeed worthy of grateful remembrance, and 
those who are still toiling, some of them with something 
of the old-time sacrifice, will be cherished and loved by 
the Church as never before. Many will be the prayers 
called forth for God's richest, kindliest blessings upon 
them and upon the toil of their hands. 

How these short stories will rebuke many of us who re- 
fuse to lay hold of any work which does not promise a 
large salary and a fine church, with a span of fine horses 
or an automobile! The complaint is widespread that the 



ministry are too much concerned about their own tem- 
poralities and not enough for the spiritualities of the flock. 

Certainly the ministry should be adequately supported, 
but we make a grievous mistake when we make the im- 
pression that we are chiefly concerned for the welfare of 
"number one." 

May this book arouse our Church to larger efforts in 
building up the home resources, that thereby she may be 
the better qualified to discharge her full duty to the whole 
world. 

J. P. LANDIS. 

JJniGn Biblical Seminary. 



OUR HEROES 



or 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 



CHAPTER I. 

Genesis of the United Brethren Church. 

It is difficult to find the source of any river. 
Eivulets run toward a thousand valleys, and the 
spring in which the remote seems to have its 
birth may have unseen streams reaching to far- 
distant fountains. The source of every river is 
in the clouds; their source is in the ocean, and 
the ocean a fountain because of the attraction 
of the sun. 

Equally difficult is it to find the sources, from 
the human side, of those great religious move- 
ments which have resulted, in one form or 
another, in positive benefit to the church of God 
and the general uplift of the race. 

The origin of United Brethrenism may be 
traced to those sources in all ages and among all 
religions where it has been insisted upon that 
spirit is more than form, and that character is 
more than ceremony* Elements from various 
sources contributed to the early development of 
the denomination. Philip William Otterbein, 
its founder, was a direct descendant of the 

11 



Our Heroes, or 

Reformation and the great Moravian revival. 
John George Pfrimnier was of Huguenot de- 
vanous scent. John Calvin McNauiar 

sources in illustrated those traits of Christian 

Development ■, -. . . 

heroism and missionary power rep- 
resented by the Scottish yeomanry; and the an- 
cestry of John Collins Bright reaches back to 
the Puritan revolution in England. 

Otterbein was born in the ancient and pic- 
turesque little city of Dillenburg, Germany, on 
the fourth day of June, 1726. A castle crowning 
the summit of a hill overlooking the city is the 
birthplace of an illustrious line of princes, in- 
cluding "William the Silent/' the hero of the 
Dutch republic. These two names have given 
that little city its title to immortality. 

The Otterbein home was one where religion 
reigned, where high culture shed its refining in- 
fluences, where intelligent common sense guided 
day after day, where mutual helpfulness was in- 
culcated, and where mutual happiness was the 
constant aim. The example of a scholarly father 
was ever before the children, and the influence 
of a cultured mother was always felt ; but, above 
all, was a spirituality that never waned. Such 
an atmosphere was favorable to scholarship and 
religion, and it is not surprising that out of that 
home came great scholars and great Christians. 

At an early age Otterbein entered college at 
Herborn, an institution of the German Re- 
formed Church, of which he was a member and 
in which his father was an honored minister. 
Both in his home and college life he breathed a 

12 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

decidedly Protestant atmosphere. Here the Re- 
formed branch of Protestantism had been firmly 
established during the period of 
Home and th Reformation. Not far away 

College Life * 

^ere the battle-grounds of Luther 
and Zwingli and Calvin. These conditions were 
both a preparation and prophecy of no ordinary 
or uncertain kind. 

When twenty-three years of age, young Otter- 
bein was ordained to the gospel ministry. Here 
it may be noted that the ordination of ministers 
in the church which he subsequently founded is 
secured in regular line from the German Re- 
formed Church — a line which is unbroken as far 
back as history furnishes any records. The 
Church may therefore take a little pride in 
claiming one of the purest and most churchly 
ancestries in ordination of which history giyes a 
record. 

Early in his ministerial life, Otterbein heard 
the divine call through his church to dedicate 
his life to evangelism in America. His prompt 
obedience to the call furnishes a noble example 
Call te of heroic courage and self-sacrifice. 

Missionary it meant the severance of the dear- 
est earthly ties, the turning away 
from prospects of rich and honor positions, to 
face the exposures and dangers of a sea voyage, 
and, if safely landed, the perils and privations 
incident to missionary work in a new and unsub- 
dued country. 

In the meantime, God was preparing the 
widowed mother for the ordeal of separation. 

13 



Our Heroes, or 

Had she not already said, "My William will 
have to be a missionary"? We may wonder if 
she had any presentiment that her son would 
plant a church which would become one of the 
most spiritual and the most admirable in spirit 
and polity in all Christendom. It is certain she 
died without the sight, and, it is probable, with- 
out the imagination of these coming glories to 
be started by her distinguished son. 

When the time for his departure came and she 
realized that it was to be a last kiss, a last look, 
the venerable, saintly mother rushed to her 
closet and prayed for added grace to make the 
sacrifice. On her return, she clasped the hand 
of her devoted son in hers, and, pressing it to her 
lips, said, "Go; the Lord bless thee and keep 
thee; the Lord cause his face to shine upon 
thee, and with much grace direct thy steps. On 
earth I may see thy face no more, but go." With 
what strange and beautiful grace can a mother's 
love bind its sacrifice to the altar. 

Mr. Otterbein came to America in 1752. It 

was in the early history of the full group of the 

original thirteen colonies, a quarter of a century 

before the era of independence. 

Arrival in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, w T as the 

America " •* 7 

scene of his first labors, then a 
German community of two thousand inhabi- 
tants. The six years which followed were fruit- 
ful of toils, trials, and conflicts, but also of great 
spiritual blessings. 

The time in which United Brethrenism took 
its rise demanded a practical theology and a re- 

14 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

ligion of experience. Theory enough there was, 
but it was cold and dead. During the third year 
of Otterbein's ministry at Lancaster he was led 
into an experience which became the "key to his 
after life." He had preached a great sermon on 
repentance and faith, when an inquirer came to 
him for spiritual advice. His only reply was, 
"My friend, advice is scarce with me to-day." 
He then sought a secret place of prayer, and 

ceased not his struggle until he 
Exp^rTence obtained the peace and joy of a 

conscious salvation. There his 
spirit came into vital, living touch with the risen 
Christ, and the darkness and unrest which had 
hitherto oppressed him fled away. He now takes 
his place in that heroic company of contempo- 
raries whose lives were a protest against in- 
differentism, irreligion, and high churchism 
through whom there came back to the ecclesiasti- 
cal world, scriptural spirituality, scriptural liv- 
ing, and a simple and scriptural ecclesiasticism. 
The spirit of the new awakening was con- 
tagious. Ministers of other denominations en- 
tered into a like experience. The Pentecost and 
birth of the denomination occurred at Isaac 
Long's barn near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 
1767. "The meeting," says Dr. 0. I. B. Brane, 

"was appropriately held on Whit- 
onr Pentecost suntide, and the gathering of the 

people and the character of the 
services were distinctively pentecostal. People 
of high and low degree and representing al- 
most every phase of belief known to the 

15 



Our Heroes, or 

commonwealth of Israel, came from far and 
near and sat under the spell of gospel unity 
in that meeting. Kev. Martin Boehm, of the 
Mennonite Church, was the Peter of the occa- 
sion, and preached with such unction and power 
that souls were swayed like trees in the grasp of 
a mighty tempest; and when the sermon closed 
on the high tide of spiritual peace and power, 
Otterbein threw his arms about the preacher be- 
fore he had time to resume his seat, and tenderly 
said, 'We are brethren.' Scores of souls were 
saved that day, and hundreds wept for joy and 
praised God aloud." 

These two fathers, with George Adam Geeting, 
an early convert, became leaders in a great re- 
vival movement. A distinguished Methodist 
bishop has said: "If the message of Otterbein 
had been in the English instead of the German 
language, he would have been the logical leader 
of the general evangelical movement in Amer- 
ica" ; a movement which saved the new republic 
to evangelical Christianity and the religion of 
the Bible. 

Nothing could discourage or intimidate those 
knights errant of the new chivalry. They were 
mighty men in preaching, and still more mighty 
in prayer. They exercised a weird 
thTFaThers fascination and were great evan- 
gelists. One of the books we need 
most is the true story of United Brethren evan- 
gelism. That story is at present scattered 
through local histories, or is perishing for lack 
of care, or has already perished. But even now 

16 




Andrew Zelt.er 




John G. Pfkimmer 




Jacob Batjxtjs 



Geo. Benedum 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

an organizing mind could shape these scattered 
materials into a narrative of surpassing power 
and beauty. He must be a chilly United Breth- 
ren and a frosty American who can hear the 
names of these heroes without a thrill of pride 
and gratitude. They must be counted among the 
creators of the American nation. "The Ger- 
mans/' says Dr. A. W. Drury, "largely from 
Switzerland and the Palatinate, 
action ° f were to have a place scarcely 
second to that of the prepon- 
derating English population in the civil and 
religious history of the United States. The 
Christian missionary among them, therefore, 
was a builder of destiny." While Washington, 
Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Jay, and Hamilton 
were laying the foundations of government, and 
building up a system of free institutions, these 
heroes of the Cross were devoting themselves 
assiduously to the culture of the nation's heart. 
It is of exceeding interest to note the divine 
methods of training and enlisting human 
agencies in carrying out His purposes. In the 
long vista of centuries intervening since the days 
of the apostles a few men have been called to 
walk apart with God in special training for 
these heroic tasks. Otterbein was preeminently 
of this select class. "His labors were begun with 
a sublime unconsciousness of the part that was 
to be performed, but he was not permitted to 
continue long without a conscious participation 
in a divine plan." Thirty-three years intervened 
between the birth of the Church and its official 

17 



Oar Heroes, or 

naming at the conference of 1800, which con- 
vened at the home of Peter Kemp in Frederick 
County, Maryland. During this period the 
founders "unconsciously laid the lines of organ- 
ized church life; and when they came together 
in that conference a thousand influences and 
associations lifted up their voices and said, 'Let 
this child of Providence be christened.' " 

Some one has very wisely said, "We can under- 
stand human history aright only as we come to 
know that it is His history." It is from this 
point of view that the origin and growth of the 
United Brethren Church can be correctly inter- 
preted and appreciated. The foun- 
oriJ^ cntlal der was not permitted to close his 
life work without the satisfying 
prevision of abiding results. A short time before 
his death, in conversation with two of his close 
personal friends, Christian Newcomer and Jacob 
Baulus, he remarked, "The Lord has been 
pleased graciously to satisfy me fully that the 
work will abide." This is to-day one of the most 
cherished convictions of every loyal United 
Brethren. 

In the perspective of a century Otterbein 
rounds out with still increasing power, sym- 
metry, and grandeur of character. His work 
abides and his personality abides with it. His 
convictions were deep and powerful ; a preacher 
Life of whose words stirred the multitudes 

p* we^aifd as win ds stir the ocean, but who is 
Beauty himself calm, ruling the storm he 

had raised. In the gentleness of his nature he 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

may be likened to Melancthon. He was more re- 
served than Luther and more genial than Calvin. 
His kindness of heart, his amiability of temper 
and affability of demeanor made him everywhere 
a welcome guest. Eev. George Lancing Taylor, 
in an ode written in 1875, speaks of Otterbein as 

"Scholar, apostle, and saint, by Asbury loved as a 

brother; 
Sage in counsel, and mighty in prayer as Elijah on 

Garmel; 
Founder and head of a people, a godly, fraternal 

communion." 

His death is an exceptional memory. It set a 
seal upon a strangely noble life, and inspired 
with new force the gospel which he lived and 
proclaimed. On the eve of his departure, No- 
vember 17, 1813, with heaven written upon his 
face, he said, "Jesus, Jesus, I die, but thou 
livest, and soon I shall live with thee." To his 
friends he exultingly whispered: "The conflict 
is over and past. I begin to feel an unspeakable 
fullness of love and peace divine; lay my head 
upon my pillow and be still." "Stillness reigned 
in the chamber of death; no, not of death — the 
chariot of Israel had come." His body sleeps 
beside the church in Baltimore, Md., that bears 
his name. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Saint Paul of the Church. 

The history of the heroes of the Cross of the 
United Brethren Church in America begins with 
a trio of illustrious characters — Otterbein, 
Boehni, and Geeting. Of their talents and min- 
isterial graces a discriminating cotemporary and 
colaborer, who knew them well, gives the follow- 
ing sketch : 

"Otterbein was argumentative, eloquent, and 
often terrible. In the elucidation of Scripture 
he was very clear and full, few being his equal." 

"Boehm was the plain, open, and frank ex- 
pounder of God's Word, being all animation, all 
life; often irresistible, like a mighty current, 
carrying his hearers into deep water." 

"Geeting was like a spring sun rising on a 
frost-silvered forest, gradually affording more 
heat, more light, until you could hear, as it were, 
the crackling in the forest and the icy crust be- 
ginning to melt and fall away, and like a 
drizzling shower ending in a clear and joyous 
day. He was the St. John of the Clover Leaf." 

The death of these three leaders marked the 
close of the first great period in our history, the 
period of origins and organization. It was fol- 
lowed by a period of expansion and by gradual 
transformation and development. If these three 
represent the "inner circle" of the apostolic col- 

20 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

lege, then Christian Newcomer, the fourth in or- 
der, represents the great apostle of the Gentiles 
in missionary zeal and evangelistic endeavor. He 
was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 
January 21, 1749, three years before Mr. Otter- 
bein arrived in America. His father was a 

native of Switzerland, having emi- 
Eariy Life grated to America in his childhood 

with his parents. The discipline of 
young Newcomer's humble home inured him to a 
life of toil and enabled him to welcome the rough 
tasks which in the divine plan he was to meet 
later in life. He was peculiarly fitted both by 
nature and grace, not only for the work of a 
pioneer missionary, but to be a master spirit 
among the pioneers. His father was a carpenter 
by trade, which trade the son learned and pur- 
sued. So it is said of the world's first and 
greatest Missionary, whose life and work among 
men marks the beginning of the truly heroic age, 
"He was a carpenter, and the son of a carpen- 
ter." 

When about seventeen years of age, Mr. New- 
comer became deeply interested in the matter of 
his personal salvation. His parents were both 
pious members of the Mennonite Society, "in 
which were still to be found remains of that 
ardent piety which two hundred years before 
had blazed up gloriously under the labors of 
Menno Simonis." Their piety and devotion had 
made a deep impression upon his mind. "Often," 
said he, "I saw them kneeling together in silent 

21 



Our Heroes, or 

prayer. " An incident which shows the strong 
trend of his conviction and feelings at this time 
is thus related : "I remember once being in the 
Early field at work, when the grace of 

Religious God wrought such powerful con- 

viction in my heart that I went 
dow T n on my knees in a hollow place in the field, 
crying to the Lord and saying, 'O thou blessed 
Savior, I will cheerfully believe in thee, for thou 
art my Redeemer, and I am the purchase of thy 
most precious blood." The various experiences 
through w T hich he passed before fully yielding 
himself to God were similar to those of James 
Chalmers, of missionary fame. Twice he had 
been led into the light, and as many times had 
fallen back into the darkness, all of which he 
attributed to his disobedience to the will of God 
respecting his life work. Finally, after fleeing 
from duty for several years, the hand of sore 
affliction is placed upon him, and one night, in a 
secret place of prayer, there wrestled with him 
the angel of the covenant until the day was 
dawning, when he fully surrendered his will to 
God, and was made a crown prince. 

About that time, Mr. Newcomer became 
acquainted with Otterbein and Geeting, and, 
finding the doctrines they preached in such per- 
fect harmony with his own expe- 
pr^dencf rience, he joined himself to them 
and to their society. He was pecu- 
liarly a child of the hour, and his life was as 
truly providential in its relation to the formative 
period of his denomination as was that of Mr. 

22 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Asbury to the church he helped to found in 
America. 

He had, in a conspicuous degree, the 
three qualities which Emerson has said "attract 
the reverence of mankind — disinterestedness, 
practical power, and courage." His disinterest- 
edness is shown in his habitual sacrifice of those 
things which most men count dear unto them- 
selves. This is apparent in every 
panties of s ^- e p £ j^ s career. There is not 

Character r 

a single sentence in his jour- 
nal (which covers the last thirty-five years 
of his missionary work), or in the comment of a 
cotemporary, that in the remotest way suggests 
that he ever put self before the interests of the 
kingdom of Christ. Not since the apostolic age 
has the church produced a grander illustration 
of the power of the gospel to subdue human 
selfishness and to make Jesus Christ supreme in 
the life. He belongs to the magnificent army of 
those who counted not their lives dear unto 
themselves that they might win souls to Christ. 
For fifty-three years he was in the saddle almost 
constantly, bearing the message of salvation to 
multitudes in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vir- 
ginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and once visit- 
ing Canada. 

Newcomer was a born bishop. After the death 
of Otterbein, Boehm, and Geeting, the infant 
Church instinctively turned to him as its leader. 
He was elected active bishop in 1813, again 
elected bishop in 1814, and with the formation 
of the General Conference in 1815 he was five 

23 



Our Heroes, or 

times successively reelected. His practical 
power is shown in the manner in which he or- 
ganized and controlled the new 
character ' "societies," "Under his influence, 
largely, the so-called 'unsectarian' 
were to become a denomination, and the so- 
called 'society' was more fully to develop the 
character of a church." Up until this time there 
had been noi definite form of government for the 
little bands of worshipers which had now begun 
to grow and develop. Organization, and that at 
once, became an imperative necessity, and 
Bishop Newcomer, who> was brought to the king- 
dom for such a time, proved himself equal to the 
task. Opposition to his work manifested itself 
in local communities, in annual conferences, 
even in the General Conference sessions ; but his 
enlarged view, single aim, and unremitted effort 
more and more prevailed. He 
organizer formed classes, and with his own 

hands stitched the first class-book 
and assisted in preparing a manuscript disci- 
pline which is still preserved. Power and repose, 
velocity and steadiness of movement, intensity 
and equipoise are commingled wonderfully in 
this man with a, mission from God. He showed 
great tact in controlling and even subduing 
opposition. He was the first of the early fathers 
to gather missionary money in order to do more 
aggressive work. Bishop Newcomer is some- 
times called, and properly so, "the refounder of 
the Church." "Humanly speaking," says his 
biographer, "had it not been for the tact and 

24 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

good sense and piety of this man of God, we 
might not, as a denomination, be in existence to- 
day." 

In a very special sense, Bishop Newcomer was 
the father of the itinerant preaching system, to 
which the Church has adhered. He regarded it 
as an apostolic mode adapted to the circum- 
stances of new and sparsely-settled districts. By 
his example he illustrated the tremendous effec- 
tiveness of the plan. Who can imagine what a 
failure United Brethrenism would have been in 
America if the itinerancy had not been estab- 
lished? Otterbein inaugurated it; Newcomer 
upheld it. 

His moral courage is shown in the manner in 
which he bore the contumely and the reproach of 
the formalism and unbelief of his times and the 
opposition of his own people to his plans and 
progressive views, which he was convinced were 
in harmony with the purposes of God. His phys- 
ical courage is shown in the manner in which he 
faced and subdued ignorant and brutal mobs. 
He was a hero of the strongest fiber. He was 
born to do and to dare. Thirty- 
spiHt^* eight times he crossed the Alle- 

ghany Mountains. On these trips 
he passed through a thousand perils, yet these 
perils and escapes, which he forgot as soon as 
over, he referred to simply as the "pepper and 
salt" which gave zest to his further and greater 
efforts. Nothing could relax his energy or ex- 
tinguish his zeal. It is said that he always kept 
a good horse, kept him in good condition, and 

25 



Our Heroes, or 

when well mounted took but little account of 
heat, or cold, or distance. On he went, traveling 
at the rate of six thousand miles a year, until he 
almost died in his saddle. The secret of New- 
comer's marvelous success lay in his love for 
souls, which developed into a passion that noth- 
ing could cool or conquer. No matter where he 
went or what were his surroundings, this ruling 
bent of his soul was manifest. His journeys 
often consumed whole days and nights, amid 
perils of robbers and wild beasts of the forest, 
often traveling a wiiole day with nothing to eat. 
Sometimes he was heard to say, when enduring 

privations and facing seemingly 
to* souis insurmountable difficulties : "One 

soul is worth more than the whole 
world. What if we risk our all, if we venture 
our lives to gain one soul for Jesus? If success- 
ful, we will be amply rewarded for all our toil. 
Let us go I" 

Mr. Spayth, w r ho had the advantage of a per- 
sonal acquaintance with him, says: "Often he 
w T as compelled to make forced rides, to expose 
his person in the most inclement season of the 
year and the stages of high water; but none of 
these things could check him in his course. The 
writer, w r hen traveling Susquehanna Circuit, in 
the year of 1812, in the depth of winter, all cold 
and snow, had a meeting in Berks County. 
While preaching, Brother Newcomer's tall figure 
made its appearance at the door. I beckoned to 
him to come to the stand, but, the room being 
crowded, he remained w T here he was, and, with- 

26 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

out leaving the door, closed the meeting with a 
very impressive exhortation, and sang and 
prayed. I pronounced the benediction. The 
audience made a move to leave. Now was New- 
comer's time ; he shook hands with one and then 
with another, addressing some by name, exhort- 
ing all, young and old, with a voice and visage 
as spiritual and holy as if he had just come from 
the court of heaven. Many began to weep, and 
we had a gracious and powerful blessing. Thus 
often, when it was thought that he was far away, 
he would come upon meetings unexpectedly and 
unlooked for, but his coming was everywhere 
and always hailed with joy." 

Bishop Newcomer was preeminently a man of 
prayer. Closely in this respect did he follow in 
the footsteps of his Lord. No part of his journal 
is of more thrilling interest than the numerous 

entries in relation to his seasons of 
prayer Life prayer. Gnce he speaks of gaining 

the summit of a mountain through 
much difficulty, where he erected an altar of 
prayer and offered up praises and thanksgiving 
to God. Then, after making supplications for 
all his brethren in the ministry, he implored the 
divine favor and protection on his further jour- 
ney. Again, he is found kneeling on the banks 
of a swollen stream in central Ohio, pouring out 
his heart to God in thanksgiving for delivering 
him safely over. 

No picture of this Church father has been 
handed down, but he is described as being tall in 
stature, of commanding figure, somewhat bent, 

27 



Our Heroes, or 

with. Dantean eyebrows, overhanging eyes of a 
singularly penetrating sweetness when they 
looked at you. His very presence, like that of 
Thomas Guthrie, subdued the ignoble and base 
in those about him, and suggested better 
thoughts. While conducting a meeting in one of 
the most wicked towns in York County, Pennsyl- 
vania, and where some of his associates had pre- 
viously suffered bodily injury at the hands of a 
mob, which opposed their work, the following 
incident occurred : 

One afternoon several women came to the 
altar of prayer, one of whom was the wife of the 
leader of the opposition. A spy, who occupied a 
place at the window, hurriedly carried the news 
to the man, whoi was working in an oil mill not 
far away. He immediately dropped his work, 
and without coat or hat and with arms bare to 
the shoulders, came running like a demon. Mr. 
Newcomer said to the people, who 
wiTh^ien were trembling with fear, "Don't 

be alarmed ; I '11 meet him." So he 
went to the door and greeted the man with the 
words, spoken in a gentle tone of voice, "I sup- 
pose you want your wife." "Yes," answered the 
man, whose countenance burned with anger, 
"and I will knock any man down who interferes 
in the matter." "Well, come right in," said New- 
comer, "I '11 show you where she is." The man 
hesitated as he stepped inside the door, when 
Mr. Newcomer placed his hand upon his shoul- 
der and escorted him down the aisle. They had 
made but a few steps when the man was seized 

28 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

with conviction, and, falling upon the floor, be- 
gan to plead piteously for mercy. That man was 
Christian Grumbling, who subsequently became 
one of the pioneer missionaries in the territory 
now occupied by the Allegheny Conference. 

Speaking of his conversion, Mr. Grumbling 
said : "Before we got far down the aisle, that 
old man's hand (referring to Newcomer) became 
too heavy for me to carry, and when I saw my 
wife down there praying, I fell right down by 
her side and cried, 'God be merciful to me, a sin- 
ner/ and that night wife and I were both 
gloriously saved." 

In the summer of 1810 Mr. Newcomer made 
his first journey west of the Alleghanies. His 
previous missionary tours had extended west- 
ward as far as Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, 
which, like Antioch, had become a new center 
for the extension of the early mis- 
we«t JoMrney sionary work of the Church. Here 
great revivals of religion occurred 
in 1803. The following entries appear in New- 
comer's journal, bearing dates of November 10 
and 11 of that year : 

"November 10. Preached at John Bonnet's. I 
had not spoken long before some of my hearers 
fell to the floor. Others stood trembling, and 
cried so loud that my voice could not well be 
heard." 

"On the 11th we had a meeting at Swopes, and 
here the power of God was displayed in a most 
marvelous manner. The whole congregation was 
moved, and seemed to wave like corn before a 

29 



Our Heroes, or 

mighty wind. Lamentation and mourning were 
very general. Many were the wounded and slain. 
Some of the most stubborn sinners fell instantly 
before the power of God. The meeting continued 
the whole night, and some were enabled to re- 
joice in the pardoning love of God." 

On the first of July, 1810, Newcomer pursued 
his journey westward from Mt. Pleasant. Some- 
where on the summit of a mountain he knelt be- 
side an altar which he had built of stone, where, 
Jacob-like, he saw the angels of God going up 
and coming down before him. Then reverently 
he arose and pursued his lonely and perilous 
way into the swamps and forests of Ohio. Fre- 
quently he was heard to remark while traveling 
through the Scioto and Miami valleys, "Oh, what 
a country this will be in a half century hence." 
How much greater prophet was he than Presi- 
dent James Monroe, who, about the same time, 
made the famous, ludicrous prophecy, "Ohio will 
never become a habitable country." On this jour- 
ney Mr. Newcomer attended the initial session 
of the Miami Conference, the second of the de- 
nomination, which convened in Boss County, 
Ohio, August 13 of that year. He reached his 
home in Pennsylvania, September 14, at which 
time he writes: "After being twelve weeks on 
my journey, I reached home this evening, and 
found my family well. Praise the Lord, O my 
soul, for all his goodness and mercy." 

These annual missionary tours westward were 
continued for nineteen consecutive years, which 
included a journey of from 1,600 to 2,000 miles 

30 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

on horseback. In 1817 this veteran hero of the 
Cross made his first tour in the State of Indiana. 
The country was then a pathless wilderness. He 
was compelled to hire guides to conduct him 
through the forests. Reaching Clark County, he 
writes: "Bless the Lord. This morning I am 
well and determined by grace to do and suffer 

his will. I am now in Clark 
Indiana County, Indiana, more than one 

hundred miles from the State of 
Ohio." One hundred miles from Ohio was con- 
sidered "far out West" in those days. It is diffi- 
cult to realize that even seventy-five years ago 
Ohio was a State on the northern frontier or 
confines of Christian civilization. Illinois was 
the frontier State in the Middle West, and Mis- 
souri in the far South. Michigan and Arkansas 
were organized territories, but beyond these 
States was an unorganized and, most of it, unex- 
plored wilderness and pathless desert, where the 
buffalo roamed at will and where the savage had 
his home. 

Bishop Newcomer made his last trip west 
when in his eighty-first year, riding on his horse, 
on this occasion, fifty-two miles in one day. On 
his return from this journey, in the early 
autumn of 1829, it was apparent that his health 
was failing. The thirty-eight pilgrimages across 
the Alleghanies and through the swamps and 

stagnant waters of the western 
Heauif wood had so preyed upon him as to 

enfeeble his step and cause his 
strong form to totter. Six months later, and 

31 



Our Heroes, or 

eight days before his death, this veteran soldier 
of the Cross mounted his horse for his last 
earthly journey, attempting to meet an engage- 
ment in Virginia. Proceeding as far as Boons- 
boro, Maryland, he remained for the night. On 
the following morning, finding himself quite ill, 
he gave up his intended journey and returned to 
his home to die. On his arrival, March 4, 1830, 
the following closing paragraph of his journal 
was written : "I lay down my pen, and the Lord 
knows whether I shall be able to resume it again. 
The Lord's will be done. Amen." 

The end of such a life, as we might anticipate, 
was beautiful and peaceful. Let us glance into 
his chamber on March 12, just before his trans- 
lation. We see him rise from his 
Rest at Last bed without any assistance, and 
kneel before that throne where he 
had formed an acquaintance with the Lord many 
years before. When the prayer is ended, the 
chariot is waiting to take him to his coronation. 
The long, weary marches are over and the hero 
of many a hard-fought battle exchanges his 
armor for a crown of fadeless glory. 

No eulogy can exalt such a man. The work of 
his heroic life cannot be estimated, and we who 
read his wonderful story to-day must feel our 
hearts thrill with enthusiasm and stir with de- 
sire to follow in his footsteps and make our lives 
count for something in the great work for which 
he ffave his all. 



32 



CHAPTER III. 

Pioneer Missionaries in Ohio. 

The admission of Ohio into the Union in 1802 
marked the beginning of the tide of immigration 
westward, and with it the development of "God's 
great West" with its then undreained-of magni- 
tude and possibilities. Little did the pioneer 
settlers imagine that they were preparing the 
future great arena that was to determine the 
final outcome for Jesus Christ over every oppos- 
ing enemy in the world, and where the struggles 
for mastery between faiths and races and civil- 
izations would be decided. 

Among the Abrahams of the Church who at 
the divine call first left their homes in the East 
and went out to build the altars of Jehovah in 
the promised lands of the West, were Andrew 
Zeller, John G. Pfrimmer, George Benedum, 
Jacob Baulus, Henry Kumler, Sr., Jacob An- 
trim, and Joseph Hoffman. 

The career of those heroes of the Cross was a 
continual glow of incandescent zeal and marvel- 
ous success. No loftier example of Christian 
heroism and consecration to the work and pur- 
pose of Christianity has been held up since the 
apostolic age. They endured hardness and priva- 
tion without a murmur; talked naturally about 

33 



Our Heroes, or 

religion in private and in public ; were not bur- 
dened with useless erudition or with overmuch 
philosophy; but they had good news to tell and 
they told it eagerly, with the eloquence of love 
and the logic of experience. If ever the wilder- 
ness did bud and blossom as the rose, that blush 
of beauty followed the meanderings of these 
servants of God and was like fragrant flowers 
that leave a long perfume. 

The first United Brethren society west of the 
Ohio River was organized by Andrew Zeller near 
Germantown, Montgomery County, Ohio, in 
1806. Almost simultaneously, probably a few 
months later, George Benedum began mis- 
sionary work near Lancaster, Fairfield Coun- 
First u. b. ty, Ohio. Probably to no two 
society individuals is the Church in Ohio 

so much indebted for its early and 
rapid growth and its present strength and pros- 
perity. Brave and true men were they, toiling 
under many disadvantages, but laying with 
patience the foundation of the goodly temple 
which their successors have reared. 

The time had now arrived for the organiza- 
tion of a western conference. The distance was 
too great and involved too much time and ex- 
pense for the ministers of Ohio to attend the 
Miami conference in the East. The Miami 

conference Conference was therefore organ- 
ized, the second of the Church in 
the historic order. The initial session was held 
at the home of Michael Crider in Ross County, 
Ohio, August 13, 1810. Christian Newcomer 

3-i 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

presided. Fifteen ministers were present. But 
little business was transacted apart from the 
simple organization. The occasion is spoken of 
rather as one of prayer and meditation. It was 
one of those historic moments when men chosen 
of God dimly realize that they are facing a mis- 
sion of vast and mysterious magnitude, and 
therefore humble themselves before Almighty 
God and seek to know his will. 

The company was composed of strong and 
varied personalities — men of giant hearts and 
stalwart frames. They were marked by a mighty 
faith that laughed at impossibilities and cried, 
"It shall be done." From that mount of com- 
munion they went forth with a new touch of 
God upon them to inaugurate a new era of prog- 
ress in the early history of the denomination. 

The original area embraced by the conference 
included all the State of Ohio, with the eastern 
portions of Indiana, the special center of work 
being the Miami, Scioto, and Muskingum val- 
leys. These men of God were to be found 
throughout this great territory wherever the 
bushman's blaze was to be seen or the sound of 
his ax was to be heard. Eagerly they followed 
the tract or trail of the settlers, in search of 
those shepherdless sheep scattered throughout 
the wilderness. By day they 
Missfonarier preached on stumps and in barns, 
and by night they slept in shanty 
or shack, often hearing the howl of the wolf, 
and sometimes the war-whoop of the painted 
savage. Through such toil and peril more than 

35 



Our Heroes, or 

a thousand additions were made to the confer- 
ence in a single year. 

ANDREW ZELLER 

Andrew Zeller was born in Berks County, 
Pa., in the year 1755. Of his early history noth- 
ing is recorded. He was of as obscure an origin 
as David, and he took the same way to the head 
of the kingdom, by doing his best at the seeming 
impossible, and trusting in God. 

His religious life and work began about the 
yeair 1790, when he was converted and united 
with the Church. Newcomer's journal reveals 
the high regard in which he was held by the 
early fathers. 

In the year 1806, Mr. Zeller and his family 
immigrated to Ohio, locating near Germantown, 
where he built a humble home and consecrated 
it to the private and public worship of God. He 
assisted in the organization of the Miami Con- 
ference and was also a member of the General 
Member of Conference of 1815, at which time 
First General he was elected bishop. In this 
position he served with great effi- 
ciency for six years. In times of perplexity he 
was one of the first men to whom his brethren 
and even his colleagues turned. His counsel was 
always invaluable. He was a man of profound 
faith and of great humility. He possessed a 
quiet dignity of manner that never forsook him. 
In old age his appearance has been likened to 
that of an apostle. 

He was a man of magnetic personality, and 

36 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

those who were brought within his influence 
were strangely draw^n toward him. Mr. Spayth 
relates this story of him which came under his 
own observation : "While on his official tour in 
1815, he had to have a, small piece of work done, 
in the town of M. The mechanic was a worthy 
man, but would not attend church or hear 
preaching. While doing the work he cast a heed- 
less look at Bishop Zeller, who stood not far 
away with his hands folded before him. The 
man looked the second and third time, but with 
feelings which had begun to steal on him, for 
which he could not account. Another look, and 
an arrow shot through his heart. From that 
moment he had no> rest (the stranger stood ever 
before him with folded hands, and, as he 
thought, praying to God for his soul) till God 
spoke peace to him. That man has ever since 
been a constant Christian." 

As a preacher, Bishop Zeller was thoughtful, 
persuasive, and dignified, always attractive and 
winning to the hearer. He had not the culture 
of Otterbein nor the eloquence of Geeting, 
neither did he embody the elements of leader- 
ship that Newcomer possessed, but he was en- 
dowed with those fine traits of noble minds, ten- 
derness and justice, without which all real in- 
tellectual powers, however brilliant, are but as 
the glitter of icebergs or the cold glare of lonely 
mountain peaks. 

When the day of his departure came, May 25, 
1839, Miami Conference was in session in Ger- 
mantown, only a mile from his residence. Be- 

37 



Our Heroes, or 

fore his spirit took its flight and dwelt with the 
angels he sent and received many greetings of 

love and faith. "With much of the 
Eventide same longing for a double portion 

of the spirit Elisha sought of 
his Master, the entire conference remained to 
attend the funeral of him who was very prop- 
erly regarded as the father of the Church in the 
West, in so far as it had a human father." 

GEORGE BENEDUM 

George Benedum, who was among the earlier 
fruits of the revival of religion in Pennsylvania, 
was admitted into the Hagerstown Conference 
in 1794, in the twenty-ninth year of his age. The 
date of his removal to Ohio was most probably 
early in 1806. He was perhaps known as widely 
and favorably in the early history of the Church 
in Ohio as any other man. Among those 
who were won to Christ during the early years 
of his evangelistic work were four young men 
who became useful and honored ministers — 
Dewalt Mechlin, Louis Kramer, John Smaltz, 
and Bishop Samuel Heistand. He assisted in 
the organization of Miami Conference and was a 
member of the first, third, fifth, and sixth Gen- 
eral Conferences. 

Mr. Benedum was a preacher of fine ability. 
Bishop Bussell, his intimate friend, pays him 
the following tribute : "He possessed high-class 
natural endowments. His apprehension was 
quick, judgment accurate, imagination fertile. 
At a camp-meeting I heard him preach a sermon 

38 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

before the sacrament, on Isaiah 53 : 12, and such 
was the profundity of thought, such the power 
of the Holy Ghost in the sermon, that it seemed 
to me that heaven and earth were coming to- 
gether." 

As an evangelist Mr. Benedum was most suc- 
cessful, and in building up new converts in the 
faith and turning young men toward the min- 
istry he perhaps had no superior in his day. 
"He traveled extensively, preached much, and 
gathered full harvests into the Master's garner, 
receiving of earthly compensation but slight 
measure, but of the eternal in great abundance." 
After a faithful service as missionary in central 
Ohio for thirty-one years and having reached 
the age of seventy-two years, he was called from 
labor to reward. 

JOSEPH HOFFMAN 

Among the early and valuable additions to the 
new r conference from the East was Joseph Hoff- 
man, who with his family moved to Ohio in 1817, 
and who in the divine plan was to wear the 
mantle of Bishop Zeller. He was a great 
preacher and evangelist, possessing a mighty 
courage and forceful personality. His life re- 
sembled not so much the beautiful river whose 
broad stream winds through rich and varied 
scenery, but that which cuts a deep and rapid 
channel through rugged rocks and frowning 
wilds, leaving the impress of its power in the 
productiveness of the region through which it 
has passed, which but for it would remain deso- 

39 



Our Heroes, or 

late and barren. At a distance Bishop Hoffman 
seemed brusque and cold, but at close range he 
was the most companionable of men, abounding 
in good will, wit, and geniality. 

He spent a winter in New York, during which 
time he was invited to speak in some of the lead- 
ing pulpits of the city. "Had rest been his 
object he might have been settled there in a very 
desirable living which was proffered him." The 
years of his itinerant work included long and 
perilous missionary journeys, both in the United 
States and Canada,, but they resulted in the sal- 
vation of multitudes of souls and in laying the 
foundations of churches whose membership still 
live to praise him. He spoke with equal fluency 
in the English and German languages. 

The life of Bishop Hoffman shone undimmed 
to the last. While preparing to attend the dedi- 
cation of a church near his home at Euphemia, 
Ohio, on a Sabbath morning, in the seventy-sixth 
year of his age, "without any previous illness, 
the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof 
came along and the man of God, like Elijah, 
dropped the mantle which he had worn so long 
and so worthily and ascended to the heights of 
lory." 



& 



HENRY KUMLER, SR. 

The conference was also favored in having as 
one of its early recruits Henry Kumler, Sr., who 
possessed in an eminent degree the qualities of 
character demanded by that strategic time. 

His work as an itinerant began in 1815. In 

40 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

intensity of missionary zeal and distances trav- 
eled he, perhaps, more nearly approximated 
Newcomer than any of the early fathers. His 
first charge in the mountains of Virginia re- 
quired a journey of about four hundred miles, 
in order to give each congregation preaching 
once in four weeks. In 1817, when serving a 
district as presiding elder, he almost went to his 
death in his zeal for souls, preaching two and 
three times a day for fourteen consecutive 
weeks. On his recovery the following year, he 
took up his work with the same degree of 
energy. During the first eight years of his 
superintendency, following the year 1825, when 
he was elected bishop, he crossed the Alleghanies 
on horseback eighteen times. 

In 1819, Mr. Kumler, with his family, immi- 
grated to Ohio and settled near Miltonville, in 
Butler County. When his house was completed 
he dedicated the largest and best room to the 
worship of God. Here services were held and 
scores of souls from year to year were born into 
the kingdom. His own children were converted 
at an early age and united with the Church. 
Their lines have gone out wherever the United 
Brethren Church has become known. 

Bishop Kumler was a forceful preacher. "His 
gifts and graces as a minister were somewhat 
peculiar, though not easily surpassed." He ex- 
hibited a mighty love— a love for God and a love 
for his fellow-men. He was indeed a master in 
Israel. To him, probably more than to any other 
man, Bishop Zeller excepted, the Church is in- 

41 



Our Heroes, or 

debted for its early planting and training in the 
Miami Valley. In January, 1854, at the 
advanced age of seventy-nine years, he entered 
upon his reward. 

To these might be added a galaxy of others, if 
space would permit, who deserve a place on the 
same roll of honor. Among them are Daniel 
Trover, Aaron Farmer, the first editor of the 
Church, Francis Whitcomb, and Christian 
Flinchbaugh, the "Peter Cartright of the Miami 
Valley. " These were stalwart sons of nature 
and mighty in holy deeds. They were strongly 
characteristics individual yet eminently sane ; 
pL^er neither learning nor ignorance 

preachers made them mad. They told good 

news; they brought tidings of great joy into 
many a home and many a community; they 
hated sin, but loved the people ; they feared God 
and nothing else in the world. The following 
tribute might be placed upon each of their 
graves : "They tamed a wild people and brought 
them and their children to the strength and joy 
of righteousness; not so much by their restric- 
tions as by their convictions, by their open self- 
denial and abundant labors, their manly bear- 
ing, their brotherly kindness, their devotion of 
mind and heart to the work of saving men and 
women." Within thirty-five years the one 
western conference of 1810 grew into eight, and 
the boundaries of the Church were extended 
westward to the Mississippi River and beyond. 

It is only by the study of local United Breth- 
ren history that an adequate conception of the 

42 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

labors of these heroes of the Cross and their con- 
tribution to American civilization can be 
framed. They represented the highest type of 
Christian char act er, and knew the joy of salva- 
tion. Wherever an early United Brethren 
appeared there was proof that religion did not 
make men miserable. Men knew them as they 
walked along. 

Mankind is wont to reverence the memory of 
warriors and statesmen, and it is right ; but how 
much more should the memories be held sacred 
of those who by loyally placing their all on the 
altar of the Christian religion, and 
Honor y ° f devoting a long life of indescrib- 

able toil, hardship, and anxiety to 
their convictions of duty to God and man, 
finally succeed in establishing as a mighty up- 
lifting power for the intellectual, social, moral, 
and religious elevation of the race — an organ- 
ization that works on through the centuries to 
make men better and happier. 



43 



CHAPTER IV. 

First Missionary in Indiana. 

The gifts laid upon Christ's altar by the 
pioneer missionaries of the United Brethren 
Church were priceless gifts, and the divine 
Master is more and more honoring and blessing 
them to enrich the faith and stimulate the zeal 
of their spiritual posterity. Among these early 
benefactors who> wrought nobly as true nation- 
builders was John George Pfriminer, the first 
United Brethren minister in the State of In- 
diana. Few men have been a greater power for 
spiritual good, have endured more varied expe- 
riences, or have left a more enduring name upon 
the early missionary work of the Church than 
has this hero of the Cross. 

John George Pf rimmer was a native of Alsace, 
an old German province on the Rhinei, ceded to 
France in 1648. His birthplace was the charm- 
ing little village of Bissheim, near Strasburg. 
He was brought up in the Re- 
mrth and formed Church and was educated 

Ancestry 

in both the German and French 
languages. He studied medicine and surgery 
and entered the French navy as a surgeon at the 
age of eighteen. He was with the French fleet 
commanded by Count DeGrasse in the West 
Indies, when attacked by the English Admiral 

44 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Rodney, off the coast of Dominica, April 12, 
1782, which fleet consisted of more than thirty 
ships. This was one of the most obstinately- 
contested engagements that ever took place be- 
tween two nations, being kept up, without inter- 
mission, nearly twelve hours. DeGrasse was 
totally defeated and taken prisoner, having lost 
three thousand men and six hundred wounded. 
In that engagement, Doctor Pfrimmer received 
a saber cut in the face, which mark he carried to 
his grave. 

In the year 1788 he immigrated to the United 
States and settled in eastern Pennsylvania. He 
was converted in the year 1790 and soon after 
found the grace which Otterbein experienced 
during his ministry in Lancaster. Ere long he 
conversion felt upon his heart the burden of 
can to the call to the ministry and at once 

began to preach. "His eminent 
fitness to preach manifested itself in the impres- 
sions which his discourses made upon his hear- 
ers, and in view of his education, talent, grace, 
and commanding powers as a speaker, he was 
regarded as a great accession to the strength 
and influence of the rising Church. Through his 
efficient labors he was instrumental in bringing 
the gospel to many hearts and planting the 
Church through a large part of western and 
central Pennsylvania." 

In the year 1800 he began his labors west of 
the Alleghanies, and after eight years succeeded 
by the help of his associates, in establishing a 
succession of mission stations from central 

45 



Our Heroes, or 

Pennsylvania to the western borders of Indiana. 
Beginning in the Susquehanna Valley, he moved 
westward by stages, first locating in Westmore- 
land County, then in Somerset County, and 
finally in Washington County. 
welt^fard Under his ministry a gracious re- 

vival of religion took place in 1803 
west of the Alleghany Mountains in what was 
called the "Glades." The meeting at Bonnet's 
Schoolhouse was especially one of great power. 
He was perhaps among the very first of the 
pioneer missionaries of the Church to visit those 
communities, and out of these early beginnings 
has grown one of the largest and most influen- 
tial conferences in the denomination. In his 
work in western Pennsylvania he was assisted 
by Christian Burger and Abraham Draksel. 

In 1808, following the tide of emigration 
through the swamps and forests of Ohio, he 
reached Harrison County, Indiana,, where he 
finally settled, without, however, intermitting 
his itinerant labors. Here he entered a quarter 
section of land upon which part of the town of 
Corydon now stands. It was the same year in 
which James Madison was elected President. 
The United States of America then comprised 
seventeen States, Vermont, Kentucky, and Ten- 
nessee having been added to the original thir- 
teen. The population of the entire country, in- 
cluding the Territories, was about seven million. 
Almost the entire population at this time was 
east of the Alleghany Mountains. West of these 
the settlements were few, small, and scattered. 

4G 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Harrison County, Indiana, in which Doctor 
Pfrimmer had located, was organized that same 
year. General Harrison, the first territorial 
governor, appointed him, with two others, as 

county judges. They held the first 
jZsT court at Corydon, May 10, 1809, 

and divided the county into town- 
ships, laid out roads, and licensed ferries and 
hotels. Any historian who undertakes to 
enumerate the formative forces of the State of 
Indiana and leave out of the calculation Doctor 
Pfrimmer and his immediate coadjutors, writes 
an incomplete history. His chief work was to 
purify society in its genesis. He was a great 
foundation-builder and primitive organizer. He 
planned wisely for the superstructure, but had 
not the material with which to do more than 
begin the erection, and that, of necessity, was 
simple and rude in his lifetime. 

Doctor Pfrimmer, with his family, reached 
southern Indiana when the country was an 
almost unbroken wilderness, and to him belongs 
the honor of planting the first United Brethren 
First u. b. society in that State. He made ex- 
omrch tensive missionary tours in the 

Wabash valleys, preaching wher- 
ever an opportunity presented itself. With the 
tide of emigration, United Brethren families 
were coming to find homes in this wilderness of 
rich soil. These were sought out bv Doctor 
Pfrimmer and made the nucleus of United 
Brethren churches. From his wilderness home 
he made at least four journeys across the Alle- 

47 



Oar Heroes, or 

ghanies, visiting the churches in Pennsylvania 
and Maryland. 

He was a charter member of the Miami Con- 
ference. Soon after its organization a district 
called "The Kentucky and Indiana District" 
was constituted, of which he was appointed pre- 
siding elder. From the conference of 1816, 
which convened in Montgomery County, Ohio, 
Bishop Newcomer accompanied him into Indi- 
ana. The country was almost entirely without 
roads, and in New Lexington they were obliged 
to hire a pilot to conduct them through the 
forests. During the journey Bishop Newcomer 
made the following entry in his journal: "We 
came to-day to an elevated spot of ground, from 
which we had an extensive view of the surround- 
ing country. Here I humbled myself on my 
knees in gratitude to- God, who, in mercy, had 
preserved me in the wilderness to the present 
time." We have in this note a glimpse of Indi- 
ana more than ninety years ago. It is not prob- 
able that those venerable fathers, prophets as 
they were, when treading the wilderness on 
Indian trails or blazing their way through the 
pathless woods, guided by a compass, could have 
believed that in so short a period as ninety- two 
years a great State would spring up, and that 
the United Brethren Church, which had then a 
few feeble societies, would number several 
strong conferences with fifty thousand mem- 
bers. 

Doctor Pfrimmer was a courageous man. His 
elements of leadership were easily recognized. 

48 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

He was brave as a lion and at the same time one 
of the gentlest of men. President William 
Henry Harrison, who was his personal friend, is 
reported to have said that "Doctor Pfrimmer 
had all the genius and skill of a military leader, 
and if he had turned his attention to military 
affairs, he might have been one of the greatest 
generals of his day." 

He was an eloquent preacher, always clear, 
concise, and scriptural. His fund of general 
knowledge, it is said, was wonderful. His ser- 
mons were highly impressive, instructive, and 
abiding in their effects. He had a broad knowl- 
edge of the Scriptures and knew how to wield 
effectively the sword of the Spirit. As an evan- 
gelist he was strong. "His revival 
Evan C geiist and meetings were as the harvest is be- 
fore the reaper. There was always 
a reaping and a gathering of fruit unto eternal 
life." His zeal for souls knew no bounds. 
Neither rains, nor floods, nor storms, nor any 
other ordinary difficulties seemed to have 
daunted him. He was never so happy as when 
on a horse going from place to place, seeking to 
tell men of Him who came to save the lost. 
During the entire period of his missionary life 
his salary ranged from $40 to $100 a year. 

In 1820, Doctor Pfrimmer began Sunday- 
school work in his new church at Corydon, 
which was the first United Brethren church- 
house w r est of the Ohio River. So far as is 
known in history, it was the first United Breth- 
ren Sunday school organized in our Zion. But 

49 



Our Heroes, or 

it is clearly evident that like organizations had 
been effected by the Church father before this 
date. We find that twenty years prior to this 
time Doctor Ffrimmer was engaged in this same 
kind of work. Bishop Newcomer, having visited 
him at his home in Pennsylvania, makes the fol- 
lowing entry in his journal, dated May 21, 1800 : 
"To-day I came to Brother Pfrimmer's. 
About thirty children had assembled at his 
house to whom he was giving religious instruc- 
tion, Some were under conviction. I also spoke 
to them. Their hearts were sensibly touched. 
May the Lord convert them truly." We learn 
from this that Doctor Pfrimmer believed in 
child conversion and that he regarded the chil- 
dren as part of his pastoral fold. Otterbein and 
Asbury were giving attention to the religious 
education of the children much earlier than this, 
but it is not fair to say that either of these 
Founder of our Church fathers instituted Sunday 
sunday-schooi schools proper. Gradually the 
American Sunday school took 
shape, and it was during the opening years of 
the nineteenth century that there was breathed 
into it the breath of life. When the American 
Sunday-School Union was organized in 1824, 
careful inquiry failed to discover more than 
one hundred Sunday schools connected with 
churches. Doctor Pfrimmer has the distinction 
of being the founder of Sunday-school work in 
the United Brethren Church. He was an edu- 
cated, aggressive, far-seeing prophet, who laid 
thus the foundation of an institution which in- 

50 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

eludes the entire denomination, and at the pres- 
ent time outnumbers it by twenty-three per cent. 
Next to the Pfrimmer Chapel in Corydon, 
which was built in 1814, perhaps the Cross 
Roads Church in Harrison County was the most 
influential of the early mission churches of In- 
diana. The society was organized by Jacob 
Antrim, that seraphic singer and sweet gospel 
preacher, who accompanied Bishops Newcomer 
and Zeller from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1818. 
In the Miami Valley, and especially in southern 
Indiana, he was remarkably suc- 
jacob Antrim cessf ul as a soul-winner. The 
Cross Roads church was the scene 
of many a triumph for the Master. It was the 
spiritual birthplace of several of the leading 
ministers of the State. The following account is 
given of the conversion of John Flora in the 
early history of the Church : "He was a talented 
young man, of a skeptical turn of mind, well in- 
formed in infidel literature and skillful in argu- 
ment. When he attended religious services, he 
used to call in question what they said and did. 
The conversion and changed life of an old 
drunkard in the neighborhood set him to think- 
ing. Discovering the old reformed drunkard at 
prayer in the woods one day, it set the infidel to 
thinking more seriously, and, hearing his testi- 
mony concerning the power of 
co^ e eTs a ion able Christ to save, one day at the Cross 
Roads Church, almost overcame 
him. At the same service a pupil of his 
school, a young lady for whom he had great re- 

51 



Our Heroes, or 

spect, gave a touching testimony. This com- 
pletely broke him down. His skepticism left 
him and he went bounding through the large 
congregation, crying at the top of his voice, 
"Here comes a Saul of Tarsus/' meaning that he 
had been a strong opposer to the Christian re- 
ligion. He fell at the altar of prayer and was 
converted. Later he entered the ministry and 
accomplished great good in the pioneer mission 
work of southern Indiana," 

Doctor Pfrimmer possessed a great soul. He 
was a man of broad vision and always exhibited 
a splendid type of optimism. A grandson who 
resides at the old homestead, writes : "Grand- 
father's life outside of his ministerial work was 
an active one. His practice as a physician in- 
cluded a large territory, even riding as far as 
forty miles to see a patient. I 
a oreat imagine his success as a doctor was 

Soul & 

largely due to his cheery nature. 
In my younger days, when meeting old men, 
upon learning that my name was Pfrimmer, they 
would often ask if I was related to Doctor 
Pfrimmer, and when I answered in the affirma- 
tive, they would say : 'Well, he was a good doc- 
tor, a great preacher, and such a jolly old soul. 
You could not be sick long after he came to see 
you, even if you did not take any medicine.' " His 
matchless energy, noble unselfishness, and Chris- 
tian intrepidity made him a living example of 
that higher, nobler life into which he constantly 
endeavored to lead others. 

52 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

He died at his home in Harrison County, In- 
diana, September 5, 1825, in his sixty-fourth 
year, having been in the ministry thirty-five 
years. In 1824 he made his last visit east of the 
Alleghany Mountains. In May preceding his 
death, he attended the General Conference, 
which convened in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, 
where he took an active part in the business and 
preached with his accustomed clearness and 
power. After the Conference, he returned to his 

home in Indiana, when he ex- 
Defth ntifnl pressed the conviction that his 

"race was run" and that he was 
soon going to join the great assembly in heaven. 
He declared that his hope in the Redeemer was 
unshaken and that it afforded him great joy as 
his end drew near. While he was uttering these 
words, his countenance beamed as with a light 
which was visible upon him in death. 

His body sleeps in the cemetery just across the 
road from Pfrimmer Chapel, and is marked by a 
marble slab bearing the following inscription: 
"Rev. John G. Pfrimmer, born in France, July 
24, 1762 ; came to the United States in 1783 and 
settled in Pennsylvania; then removed to Indi- 
ana in 1808 ; died September 5, 1825. Deceased 
established the first United Brethren society in 
Indiana. He rests from his labors and his works 
do follow him." 



53 



Our Heroes, or 



LESSON I. 



Chapter I. 

1. What can you say of the origin of the United Brethren 
Church ? 

2. Name some of the sources that contributed to its devel- 
opment. 

3. When and where was Philip William Otterbein born? 

4. What can you say of his home and college life? 

5. What can you say of the line of ordination in the United 
Brethren Church? 

6. When was Otterbein called to missionary work? To what 
field? What town? 

7. Describe the home-leaving. 

8. What can you say of the religious conditions of the colonies 
at that time? 

9. What new experience came to Otterbein at Lancaster? 

10. When and where did our denominational Pentecost occur? 

11. When and where was the denomination officially named? 

12. What of the heroism of the fathers and their work? 

13. What did Otterbein say of his impressions regarding the 
permanency of the work? 

14. What can you say of Otterbein's life and influence, in the 
perspective of a century? 

15. What was Rev. George Lansing Taylor's tribute to Otter- 
bein? 

Chapter II. 

1. What period in the history of the United Brethren Church 
closed with the death of Otterbein, Boehm, and Geeting? 

2. What period in the history of the Church began with 
Christian Newcomer? 

3. What can you say of his early life? Date of birth? 

4. What can you say of his early religious struggles? 

5. What relation did he sustain to the founding of the 
Church ? 

6. What were some of his leading qualities of character? 

7. What can you say of him as an organizer? 

8. What relation did he sustain to the itinerant preaching 
system of the Church? 

9. How many times did he cross the Alleghanies? 

10. What can you say of the distances he traveled, and the 
perils and hardships of the way? 

11. W T hat does Mr. Spaythe say of Newcomer's work and 
influence ? 

12. What can you say of his prayer life? 

13. Give circumstance of Christian Grumbling's conversion. 

14. Give date and brief review of Newcomer's first visit to 
Ohio. 

15. Give date and incidents of his first visit to Indiana. 

16. In what year did he make his last pilgrimage West? What 
was his age? 

17. Where and when did he make his last entry in his diary? 

18. What period of his ministerial life does his diary cover? 

19. Describe his death. 

54 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Chaptek III. 

1. When was the State of Ohio admitted into the Union? 

2. Who were some of the first United Brethren missionaries 
in the new State? 

3. What can you say of these early heroes of the Cross? 

4. When, where, and by whom was the first United Brethren 
society organized in Ohio? 

5. Where and by whom was another society organized about 
the same time? 

6. Why was it necessary to organize a new conference west 
of the Ohio River? 

7. When, where, and by whom was Miami Conference organ- 
ized ? 

8. What was the original area embraced by the conference? 

9. How many additions were made to the conference in a 
single year? How were these results achieved? 

10. W r hen and where was Andrew Zeller born? 

11. What can you say of his early history? 

12. When did he immigrate to Ohio, and where did he locate? 

13. When was he elected Bishop, and how long did he serve? 

14. What incident does Mr. Spayth give of his personality and 
influence? 

15. What can you say of George Bedenum? 

16. What four men were won to Christ during his early mis- 
sionary work? 

17. What did Bishop Russell say of him as a preacher? 

18. What can you say of Bishop Joseph Hoffman ? 

19. Give brief sketch of the life of Bishop Henry Kumler Sr. 

20. Give some characteristics of these pioneer preachers. 

Chaptek IV. 

1. Who was the first United Brethren missionary in Indiana? 

2. Where was John George Pfrimmer born? 

3. What can you say of his birthplace and early education? 

4. What was his early occupation? In what great battle did 
he participate? 

5. When did he come to America, and where did he locate? 

6. When was he converted, and called to the ministry? 

7. When did he begin his labors west of the Alleghanies? 

8. Give stages of his journey westward? When did he reach 
Indiana? 

9. How many States did the United States of America then 
comprise? What was the population of the country including the 
territories ? 

10. What appointment did Doctor Pfrimmer receive from Gen- 
eral Harrison, the territorial governor? 

11. When and where was the first United Brethren church 
organized in the State of Indiana? 

12. What was the condition of the country at that time? 

13. What can you say of Pfrimmer's courage and hardships as 
a missionary? 

14. What did President William Henry Harrison say of him? 

15. Who was the founder of our Sunday-school work? 

16. When and by whom was the Cross Roads Church organized 
in Harrison County? 

17. What remarkable conversion occurred at that place? 

18. What is said of Doctor Pfrimmer as a physician? 

19. When and where did he die? How is his grave marked? 



55 



CHAPTER V. 

First English-Speaking Missionary. 

One small life in God's great plan, 

How futile it seems as the ages roll, 
Do what it may, or strive how it can, 

To alter the sweep of the infinite whole. 
But the pattern is rent where the stitch is lost, 
Or marred where the tangled threads have crossed, 
And each life that fails of its true intent 
Mars the perfect plan that its Master meant. 

— Susan Coolidge. 

The place occupied by the life and work of 
John Calvin McNamar in the early development 
of the denomination is worthy of a fine apprecia- 
tion. The call of the Church was first to the 
German people and churches, and to these the 
labors and preaching of the fathers continued 
with but little exception until 

History 11 1813 > when Mr - McNamar, known 

in history as the "first English 
preacher" of the denomination, joined the Miami 
Conference. The time had now come, because of 
the preponderance of the English language and 
the new religious life awakened by United 
Brethren evangelists, when the demand for Eng- 
lish preaching was imperative. To meet this de- 
mand and to open to the Church this larger door 
of usefulness and power, McNamar was brought 
to the kingdom. 

From the time he entered the itinerancy, the 
work began to spread into the English communi- 

56 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

ties in Ohio and Indiana:, and, indeed, in all 
directions. The number of preachers who could 
speak the English language only was rapidly 
multiplied, and within six years eight ministers 
were added to the English force of the new con- 
ference. 

Mr. McNamar was born in Virginia in 1779. 
No record is given of his early life. He was of 
Scotch descent and his religious life and mis- 
sionary zeal were in harmony with the self-sacri- 
fice and dauntless courage of his race, which has 
earned high distinction and achieved large suc- 
cess in all fields of missionary service. 

His religious life began in 1811, when he 
came into the community of Gemiantown, Ohio, 
as a school-teacher, having been employed by 
citizens of Mr. Zeller's neighborhood. He form- 
erly resided in Fairfield, Green County, and is 
described by one who knew him as "a small, 
lithe, sharp-visaged, witty man, careless alike of 
his temporal and of his spiritual interests." The 
brother who went to Fairfield with his large 
covered wagon to remove the "schoolmaster," 
with his family, to the new theater of his labors, 

was much surprised and deeply 
party 118 grieved, to find a large and noisy 

dancing party at his house giving 
him a farewell visit, The dance occupied the 
entire night, and the company remained until 
the departure of the family for Germantown 
in the early morning. It was at a meeting held 
in Mr. Zeller's barn the same year that Mr. Mc- 
Namar, under the influence and preaching of 

57 



Our Heroes, or 

that saintly man of God, yielded his life to 
Christ. Soon after his conversion he experi- 
enced a call to the ministry, and in 1813, upon 
the recommendation of Mr. Zeller, he was 
granted license to preach, and received into the 
Miami Conference. 

To the present generation of United Brethren 
John Calvin McNamar is only a name; to his 
own generation he was for many years a marvel 
in intelligence, eloquence, evangelism, and con- 
structive leadership. For a quarter of a century 
he stood high in the councils of the Church and 
was connected with some of its most important 
legislation. He was a delegate to 

m2lt the third > flfth > and sixth General 

Conferences. As a mark of the 
high esteem with which he was held by these 
bodies, he was elected to succeed Bishop New- 
comer in the bishopric. His reasons for declin- 
ing this responsibility and honor are not given. 
Mr. McNamar has the distinction of having 
formulated and introduced the first financial 
plan for the local congregation in the history of 
the Church. His wise statesmanship enabled 
him to see that without an adequate ministerial 
support the Church, with all its zeal, would run 
a brief race and produce few abiding results. 
Author of Accordingly, in the General Con- 

Financiai ference of 1826 he offered a resolu- 

tion which required the presiding 
elder and the preacher in charge to appoint a 
circuit steward for every circuit, and that each 
class should also be required to select a steward ; 

58 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

and that it should be the duty of these officers to 
make quarterly collections, in money or goods, 
for the preacher in charge, and report to each 
quarterly conference. After an extended discus- 
sion the resolution was adopted, One argument 
of Mr. McNamar for the resolution was that the 
year before he had received the meager sum of 
|41.16 for his year's work. 

Mr. McNamar is spoken of as a preacher of 
high rank, brave, unpretentious, practical, and 
spiritual. He was unsurpassed in his qualities 
to capture new communities. There must have 
been peculiar power in his preaching and a pecu- 
liar adaptability to the hearts and to the spir- 
itual needs of the people. Multitudes flocked to 
hear him. His characteristic Scotch humor was 
deliberate, like his reasoning; so that seldom, in 
spite of its exuberance, did he suf- 

serious thought, which he wielded 
like a flaming sword. Of his characteristics we 
quote the following from Lawrence's history: 
"He used correct and forcible language; spoke 
slowly, distinctly pronouncing every word. 
Being well versed in polemic divinity, he de- 
voted much attention to the exposition and 
defense of the fundamental doctrines of Chris- 
tianity. . . . His sermons on the divinity of 
Christ, often preached to immense congrega- 
tions at camp-meetings, made a profound im- 
pression. It must not be inferred, however, that 
he was a religious pugilist, devoting his whole 
time in the pulpit to theological disquisitions 

59 



Our Heroes, or 

and finding his reward in the defeat of his an- 
tagonist or in the applause of his friends. Par 
from it. He was not a vain theologian. His 
object was to save men; and he had the happy 
faculty of following up a clear exposition and 
masterly defense of some great truth with a 
heart-searching application." 

Mr. McNamar had the evangelistic spirit to 
an intense degree, and the spread of the Re- 
deemer's kingdom was to him paramount to all 
things else. He had the zeal of the early dis- 
ciples, and, regardless of the cost to himself, 
went everywhere in his large frontier parish 
preaching the gospel of the king- 

ziaf 0nary dom * He was a man of su perb 
courage. To him even roads and 
paths seemed useless. If his horse could not 
carry him, he led the horse, or, leaving him be- 
hind, went on foot. He frequently slept in the 
wilderness, but he was never lost. His long jour- 
neys were often made extremely difficult by unto- 
ward condition of the roads and by overflowing 
creeks and rivers. As an itinerant he was an ex- 
ample of punctuality. "When the time arrived for 
him to start to an appointment," says George 
Bonebrake, "he was off. He would wait for no 
one, and listened to no excuses. Rain, snow, mud, 
swollen streams, and floating causeways — any of 
these, or all of them combined, could not change 
his purpose. Nothing but a physical impossi- 
bility would detain him from an appointment." 
"By this kind of work," says Mr. Lawrence, 
"he planted the larger part of the early English 

60 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

United Brethren churches in southwestern Ohio 
and southern Indiana, and he was not only emi- 
nently successful in organizing churches and 
forming circuits, but also in reinforcing the 
ministry. An examination of the minutes of the 
Miami and Indiana conferences, from 1814 to 
1834, will show that to Mr. McNamar, as an 
agent of providence, the Church is indebted for 
a large number of the most effective itinerant 
ministers who entered the ranks during that in- 
teresting period of her history." 

He was a typical itinerant and presiding 
elder. He believed in the system and illustrated 
its effectiveness and adaptability by his life. 
The old-fashioned circuit with its quarterly 
meetings enabled the pioneer preachers to reach 
the people in their homes and in large gather- 
ings; the camp-meetings so admirably suited to 
the genius of United Brethrenism and the social 
necessities of new communities brought into co- 
operation the strongest ministers of the denom- 
ination — and there were giants in those days. 

Mr. Spayth has beautifully said : "J. C. Mc- 
Namar, a true son of the gospel, determined to 
march in the front ranks of the ministerial 
army. He chose the frontier country for his 
field of gospel labor. To forego all sorts of com- 
fort, to range the forest, to carry the gospel to 
the newly-arrived inhabitants, to 
a Tribute seek the lost and scattered of 

Israel, was his employment, no 
matter how poor or destitute they or himself 
were. Miami, Indiana, White Biver, and Wa- 

61 



Our Heroes, or 

bash conferences will long be blessed with the 
increase of his labors." 

He had none of this world's goods. This will 
be understood when it is known that his salary 
ranged from $40 to $130 a year, and that he had 
a, large and very helpless family to support. He 
evidently was tested by these hardships, for in a 
letter to a friend he once wrote : "I want faith, 
courage, patience, meekness, and love. When 
others suffer so much for their temporal inter- 
ests, surely I may suffer a little for the glory of 
God and the good of souls." It puts fortitude, 
all-devout, invincible, into a missionary to be 
convinced that he is sent of God. 

In the year 1846 this faithful soldier of the 
Cross, after a service of thirty-six years, was 
called to his heavenly reward. His body sleeps 
in a lonely cemetery near Jordan Village, Owen 
County, Indiana. No shaft of granite or marble 
marks his resting-place, but he has a memorial 
more enduring than these in the ever-widening 
influence of his good and useful life. 



62 



CHAPTER VI. 

First Missionary to the "Black Swamp." 

Among the earliest religious workers in north- 
western Ohio were the pioneer ministers of the 
Church of the United Brethren in Christ, the 
first of whom was the subject of this sketch. 
Previous to the year 1823, a strong tide of immi- 
gration set in toward this new territory of the 
then frontier State, and among the early settlers 
of the Sandusky Valley were a number of 
United Brethren families, including some local 
preachers. These pioneers held meetings in 
their respective neighborhoods and prepared the 
way for the missionaries who were sent into this 
region by the Muskingum Conference, as early 
as the year 1829. These heroes of the Cross at 
that date had a string of appointments extend- 
ing from Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, to Lower 
Sandusky, Ohio. 

In common with other pioneers, these preach- 
ers endured many trials and privations, and per- 
formed much toilsome and difficult work for 

meager and uncertain salaries. 
N^^ohio They met with abundant success 

in evangelistic work and in the 
temporary organization of religious societies ; 
but, owing in part to the- constant shifting of 

63 



Our Heroes, or 

population, they did not, as a rule, succeed in 
establishing permanent societies and building 
church-houses as well as those who came later 
and labored in towns and villages. Their 
preaching-places were mostly in private houses, 
barns, schoolhouses of log structures, or in the 
open air in the summer season, in the shade of 
forest trees. Their appointments were often in 
widely-separated neighborhoods, connected only 
by winding forest roads or Indian trails, which, 
in case of deep snows, could only be traced by 
the "scotched trees" along the route. These pas- 
sages were often quite impassable on account of 
high water and the almost inter- 
of™rarei S minable, sticky, black mud, some- 

times hiding treacherous beds of 
quicksand. These preachers usually traveled on 
foot or on horseback, and preached every day in 
the week and two 1 or three times on Sunday. 
Their meetings were as well attended on week 
day as on the Sabbath. Farmers, in those days, 
cheerfully left their work to attend religious 
services. In times of "big meetings" they came 
from several adjoining neighborhoods, even in 
bad weather, and over bad roads, on foot, on 
horseback, and not infrequently in large wagons 
or sleds, drawn by ox teams. 

In the year 1822, Jacob Baulus, with his 
family, emigrated from Frederick County, 
Maryland, to the forests of the "Black Swamp," 
near Lower Sandusky, now Fremont, Ohio, 
where he was the first evangelical minister to 
raise the gospel standard among the few white 

64 




John C. McNamar 




William Davis 




Joseph Hoffman 





Jacob Ritter 



Alexander Biddle 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

inhabitants then living in that section, and while 
the aboriginal race had yet full possession east 
and west of the Sandusky River. 

The name of Jacob Baulus is among those 
which appear the most frequently in the early 
Church records, many allusions to him occur- 
ring in Newcomer's journal. He shared the 
warm personal friendship of Otterbein and 
Boehm, and, indeed, most of the early Church 
fathers. He was a member of the conference of 
1800, which convened at the home of Peter 
Kemp, two miles west of Frederick City, Mary- 
land. This was one of the most important gath- 
erings in the early history of the Church. It 
possessed the character of a General Conference, 
and had much to do with shaping the future of 
the denomination. In 1805 the conference con- 
vened at the home of Mr. Baulus. That was the 
last conference attended by both Otterbein and 
Boehm. For a number of successive conferences 
in early years of the century Mr. 
secretary* Baulus acted as secretary. He made 
it a rule to conclude his record 
with a brief prayer, the following of which is a 
specimen: "Lord Jesus, be with thy servants. 
Mold them after thine own image. Give them 
godly zeal and untiring faithfulness. Let thy 
virtues shine in them and thy light shine 
through them, and may many be brought to 
light, and we will ascribe all the praise to God. 
Amen." 

Jacob Baulus was born March 10, 1768. He 
was of German descent, his great ancestor, 

65 



Our Heroes, or 

Henry Baulus, haying immigrated to this coun- 
try from Germany in 1735. The descendants of 
this honored German father have been noted for 
the moral and religious influence they have 
exerted, the extent of which can be known only 
in the great hereafter. When a boy in his teens, 
Jacob Baulus consecrated his young life to God, 
and at eighteen years of age entered the min- 
istry. 

On the Sabbath after reaching his frontier 
home, in the wilds of northern Ohio, he felt it 
his duty, as a minister of the gospel, to use his 
influence to have the Sabbath day properly 
observed. He went around the little town and 
told the people what he came for — to live among 
them and have them live as Christian people. 
He went from house to house and store to store 
and induced the people to> close their places of 

business and observe the Sabbath. 
observance Previous to his coming, Sunday 

had been to them like any other 
day. Several families residing in the town were 
considered very undesirable and dangerous 
people, among whom was a Mr. Dew and his 
family; also a man by the name of Sanford 
Maines. Meeting him one Monday morning in 
the village, Mr. Baulus inquired, "Is your name 
Sanford Maines ?" He said it was. "They tell 
me," said Baulus, "you are a set of horse thieves, 
and I warn you to take care." "What!" ex- 
claimed Maines, apparently surprised. Mr. 
Baulus repeated the same words and passed on. 
The next night his buggy was taken to a thicket 

66 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

and burned. Many such incidents occurred in 
those days. 

When it is remembered that this was only 
eight years after the close of the last war with 
England, at which time this whole region was 
overrun with the British and their savage allies, 
the Indians, the present generation can form 
some just conception of the hardships to be en- 
countered and privations to be endured in enter- 
ing this primeval forest to estab- 

Encountered ^ s ^ h omes an( l ^J the foundation 
of a Christian civilization. When 
it is further considered that these pioneers cut 
the first wagon road from the Sandusky River 
to the Muskallounge Creek, a better conception 
will be had as to the newness and wildness of 
the region round about, when we remember that 
wild game and wild men abounded throughout 
the territory. Mr. Baulus not only preached to 
the new settlers whenever opportunity offered, 
but he opened the house and spread his table for 
evangelistic ministers of all denominations. 

He entered a large section of land in the 
Black Swamp, as is shown by the land patents 
granted him by President Monroe and Jackson. 
primitive Many of those old parchment deeds 

Methods of are to be seen now-. This section 
surveying f ft\e country being little more 

than a wilderness, surveys and surveyors were 
almost unknown. The description of one piece 
of land at about this time proves this. The deed 
says, "Starting from the center of Muskallounge 
Creek east, so many turns of a wagon wheel." It 

67 



Our Heroes, or 

is at once seen how very indefinite this is, as no 
size of the wagon wheel was given, and it has 
caused considerable controversy as to how much 
land this piece contained. 

For these items of interest we are indebted to 
Mr. J. Burgner, an old and honored citizen of 
Fremont, Ohio. 

From 1822 to 1829, Mr. Baulus devoted much 
of his time to missionary work, making many 
long and perilous journeys through the wilds of 
the country west of Tuscarawas County. A 
number of preaching places were established 
and new classes organized. In 1829 the General 
Conference recognized this growing mission and 
made it a part of Muskingum Conference. At 
the next session, of the Conference, Mr. Baulus 
was elected presiding elder of this new district, 
and Rev. John Zahn was appointed missionary 
to aid in the work. The following year Revs. 
Israel Harrington and J. Harrison were ap- 
pointed by the Conference to work in this new 
district. It was necessary for ministers to travel 
one hundred miles from the borders of Mus- 
kingum Conference and through a wilderness in 
order to reach this new mission field. About 
this time the forces were greatly strengthened 
by a strong current of immigration from Mary- 
land and Pennsylvania, among whom were sev- 
eral United Brethren families, including a half 
dozen or more ministers. 

In 1833 the General Conference authorized 
the organization of a new conference to be 

68 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

known as the "Sandusky Conference." In May 
of the following year the new body held its first 
session at the home of Philip Bretz in Seneca 

Sandusky County. Bishop Heistand Organ- 

Conference ized the conference with the fol- 

^ * lowing ministers: Jacob Baulus, 

George Hiskey, Jeremiah Brown, O. Zook, John 
Crum, V. T. Tracy, Jacob Bare, O. Strong, 
Henry Errett, J. Smith, Lawrence Easterly, 
Jacob Cramer, J. Alsop, Benjamin Moore, 
Daniel Strayer, Israel Harrington, Jacob Crum, 
Henry Kimberlin, and John Fry — twenty in 
number. At this early date no statistics were 
kept of members received, so that we have no 
means of knowing what the membership was or 
how rapidly it increased. The following breth- 
ren were admitted at this first session of the 
conference: John Davis, Jacob Garver, Stephen 
Lilebridge, A. Winch, J. C. Rice, and B. F. 
Kauffman. Thus the conference entered upon 
its career with an enrollment of twenty-six 
preachers. Two years later seven fields of labor 
were reported, with many inviting territories to 
be occupied at once. Mr. Baulus was greatly re- 
joiced over the growth of the work. At a camp- 
meeting in 1837 he arose and said : "Praise the 
Lord, fifteen years ago I was the only United 
Brethren preacher in this district; now there 
are more than thirty." 

Mr. Baulus was an influential leader and a 
good builder. He always shared in the largest 
measure the confidence of his brethren. By his 
early advent and labors in the State of Ohio he 

69 



Our Heroes, or 

became the father of the Sandusky Conference. 
The sturdy character of the men he gathered 
about him, as of those who followed in their 
steps, indicates how wisely and efficiently he 
laid the foundations of the Church in that 

region. The Black Swamp is no 
Bunder more, and the desert has literally 

been made to rejoice and blossom 
as the rose. Upon those early foundations has 
risen the largest conference in the denomina- 
tion and from the few scattered members he 
gathered in the wild forests of northern Ohio 
has now grown an army upon the same territory 
twenty thousand strong. 

Father Baulus was a noble type of the hardy 
pioneer preacher. For the love of Him whom he 
served he welcomed rough tasks, and in his 
name cheerfully went into dark and dangerous 
places. During his early ministry he traveled 
extensively over Maryland, Virginia, and Penn- 
sylvania. After coming to Ohio his voice w T as 
heard in almost every community where the 
Church had an organization. When preaching 
at one time in Cincinnati, he was presented with 
a cane. It was of very light wood, with a turned 
ivory top. Small tassels hung from it a short 
distance below the handle. The cherished relic 
is now in possession of his grandson, who resides 
in Fremont, Ohio. 

Mr. Baulus was an able preacher. "He was 
highly distinguished for an exemplary and pious 
life; in mind, clear-sighted, comprehensive, and 
correct," He was a man of strong convictions. 

70 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Faith was the substance standing under his per- 
sonality, and that faith was so firmly rooted and 
grounded in the Word of God that nothing could 

move him. He knew his Bible ; his 
^fluentiai sermons were rich in gospel truth. 

He prayed in the language of 
Scripture ; he was intensely earnest. His armor 
was always bright ; not one particle of rust could 
be found upon it. His enthusiasm was infec- 
tious; no man could be slothful or indifferent 
when about him. He despised lukewarmness, 
His faithful, genial spirit endeared him to all 
the young men of his conference. Age was on 
his head, but youth was in his heart. His physi- 
cal strength continued until he reached his 
eightieth year. This is marvelous when we con- 
sider the fifty-six years of exposure, of self-sacri- 
fice, of battle with stern conditions, and of cease- 
less effort to extend the Redeemer's kingdom 
through which he passed in his missionary work. 
The last four years of his life were years of great 
affliction, as the result of the privations and toil 
incident to his pioneer missionary life. On the 
20th of April, 1851, he entered upon his reward, 

having reached the mature age of 
hI^T* eighty-four years. The evening of 

his life was beautiful and peaceful. 
Having spent himself with such splendid hero- 
ism, in such sublime service, he was able to say 
with the great Paul, as the shadows gathered, 
"I have fought a good fi.^ht, I have finished my 
course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there 
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness." 

71 



Our Heroes, or 

Among the heroic colaborers of Mr. Baulus, 
perhaps Stephen Lilebridge did more than 
any other man of his day to build up the cause 
of Christ in the conference. He was born Jan- 
uary 31, 1815, converted at the age of eighteen, 
and united with the Church. Soon he entered 

the ministry and for eight years 
Lue^rmge served the Church faithfully as an 

itinerant. "To go where brethren 
had yet no name or home, and where Christ 
was seldom preached by any minister, and still 
less known, was his peculiar call, as it was his 
pleasure and delight." During the eight years 
of his missionary life, his annual pay was less 
than $100, with the one single exception. He 
suffered much from the want of suitable cloth- 
ing during the winter season, which was one of 
the causes of his untimely death. From his 
diary, it appears that during his brief career he 
preached 1,930 sermons. After forming many 
new societies and winning hundreds to Christ, 
at the age of twenty-eight, on the 25th of May, 
1843, he went to his reward. Large, indeed, 
w^ould be the list of other heroes of faith from 
Baulus to the present in this great conference, 
who deserve a place in these records. 



72 



CHAPTER VII. 

"The Old Man Eloquent" 

Among the names which stand high in the 
annals of the missionary work of the Church in 
the home land is that of William Davis, a 
pioneer in the States of Ohio, Indiana, and 
Iowa, where yet some live to speak of his power 
as a preacher and of his rare qual- 

Prominent ^j f mind ^ hesrt Q ne Q f 

in History 

our bishops has said, "William 
Davis is perhaps known more widely and favor- 
ably in the history of the Church than any other 
man save those who were intimately connected 
with its origin." 

He was born in Ontario County, New York, 
January 3, 1812, the second son and fourth child 
of Ezra and Lucretia Davis — good, honest, hard- 
working Christian parents, who taught their 
children early in life to revere and practice the 
tenets of the Christian religion. This early 
training, by constant precept and example, was 
the means of bringing all the family of children 
within the Church early in life. 

It was during the early boyhood of Mr. Davis 
that the family emigrated to Indiana. About 
the year 1820, they are engaged in clearing a 
homestead in the wilds of the southern part of 

73 



Our Heroes, or 

that then frontier State. When less than seven- 
teen years of age, young Davis was converted 
and received into the Church under the ministry 
of Rev. Aaron Farmer. Soon he became im- 
pressed with the duty of trying to save others, 
and, notwithstanding his extreme youth, he at 
once began the work. At the organization of the 
Indiana Conference on May 27, 1830, he was 
licensed to preach, and appointed to his first 
circuit. The territory comprised several coun- 
ties in northern Indiana, with twelve appoint- 
ments. 

Clad in homespun and on foot, he started for 
his circuit. After reaching it, the distance be- 
tween appointments was sometimes so great that 
he would have to start as soon in the morning as 
it was light enough to see the trail ( for even the 
Indian roads of to-day are of vast improvement 
over those of that day), taking 
c/rc^t' 8 * with him for a lunch some corn- 

dodgers and dried venison, this 
being the principal diet. With his Testament, 
he prepared his sermons as he trudged along, 
often singing the praises of his Master in the 
beautiful hymns so popular and soul-stirring in 
those days. Once, on returning home from his 
circuit, he enjoyed a treat, the like of which up 
to that time he had never before enjoyed, as he 
related it. During his absence, it 
Happy seems that his father and older 

Surprise 

brother had gone to Logansport, 
and on returning, brought back a gallon of New 
Orleans molasses, and for their Sunday dinner 

74 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

his mother and sisters had prepared the follow- 
ing menu : Extra fine corn bread, fried venison, 
roast pheasant, butter, and New Orleans molas- 
ses. This was a feast that was remembered dur- 
ing the remainder of his days. Wheat bread was 
a luxury not to be indulged in by the frontier 
people in those days, and New Orleans molasses 
was a treat. 

His salary for the year was not sufficient to 
enable him to purchase a horse, so after working 
several months on this frontier charge, and with 
occasionally the benefit of a borrowed horse, he 
hired out to work for a man for the sum of eight 
dollars per month, and by so doing obtained the 
means for purchasing a preacher's outfit, con- 
sisting of horse, saddle, bridle, saddle-bags, a 
homespun suit, and a pair of leggings. 

His ordination occurred at the second session 
of Indiana Conference, when less than twenty 
years of age. He was by that conference, which 
met in Harrison County, assigned to St. Joseph 
Mission. The distance to be traveled in making 
one tour of the territory was more than three 
hundred miles. He went to it on horseback, and, 
there being no roads leading that way, he trav- 
eled by Indian trails made by the Miami and 
Pottawottomi tribes, who, when 
Tribes k- e P asse( l through, were just going 

to the Government Agency to re- 
ceive their yearly stipend. Between Logansport 
and South Bend, a distance of eighty miles, but 
two white families lived; and, not being accus- 
tomed to traveling alone among the Indians, Mr. 

75 



Our Heroes, or 

Davis felt himself in no little danger when meet- 
ing many squads of from ten to fifty, often in 
lonely places along the routes. They, however, 
did the young missionary no harm, and he 
reached his mission field in good health and 
spirits. The mission embraced three counties in 
Indiana and two in Michigan, with ten appoint- 
ments, among them Elkhart, Indiana, where he 
delivered the first sermon ever preached in that 
town. He also preached the first sermon in 
Michawatka, which at that time consisted of an 
Indian wigwam and several scattered cabins. 
His salary for the year was twenty-five dollars. 

Mr. Davis was elected presiding elder when 
twenty-two years of age, and served in this 
capacity with marked ability for quite a number 
of years. He was one of the principals in effect- 
ing the organization of the Wabash Conference, 
the first session convening in Parke County, 
Indiana, in September, 1835. Thir- 
wabash ^ een m j n i s t ers were enrolled and 

Conference 

six circuits were outlined, divided 
into two presiding-elder districts. The elders 
chosen were William Davis and John Denham. 
Though young in years, Mr. Davis w r as regarded 
as one of the wisest and safest counselors of his 
times. He had the prudence, the foresight, and 
firmness of age. 

He was united in marriage while on his way 
to conference in 1835 to Miss Charlotte Miller, a 
young tailoress of Middletown, Ohio, who was 
visiting in the vicinity at that time. They both 
rode the same horse to the conference. Mrs. 

76 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Davis proved to be a most devoted sympathizer 
and helper to her husband in his missionary 
work. Previous to her marriage she had earned 
and saved a little money, and with it they pur- 
chased about sixty acres of timber land near 
South Bend, Indiana, in what was called "The 
Thick Timber/' There a humble log cabin was 
erected, into which they moved, and here for 
five years they lived ; but the work of the minis- 
try was by no means abandoned, though but 
little in the way of salary resulted. During 
these five years sixty dollars represented his en- 
tire cash receipts. Mrs. Davis, 
a Heroine being an expert with the needle, 
had, by exchanging her skill and 
labor for the skill and labor of the wood- 
chopper, succeeded in having forty acres of the 
land cleared of the timber and made ready for 
planting. The farm was subsequently sold and 
the proceeds invested in a stock of goods at 
Bluffton, Indiana, around which town the work 
of these self-sacrificing servants of God centered. 
A little later, through the treachery of a part- 
ner, they awoke one day to find themselves 
penniless. About this time Mr. Davis had been 
away on a long trip and had received very little 
salary. The time was approaching for him to 
again go to his work, but the last morsel of food 
was almost gone. Mrs. Davis noticed that he 
seemed somewhat cast down in spirit. Coming 
into the house one day, he said, "My dear, I have 
made up my mind not to go; I cannot think of 
going away and leaving you and the little ones 

77 



Our Heroes, or 

without the necessities of life." She turned to 
him and said: "Go and do your duty; go and 
preach the gospel. Don't trouble about us ; God 
will take care of us." 

Mr. Davis was considered one of the most elo- 
quent men of his times. Throughout the Central 
West he was familiarly known as the "Old Man 
Eloquent." The following para- 

Btoi™"*- § ra P h is fr ° m the p en ° f ° oL Rob " 

ert Cowden, who, when visiting 
Lisbon, Iowa, in 1881, attended services in the 
church where Father Davis worshiped at that 
time : "The occasion at the moment was a com- 
munion service. I occupied a seat in the rear, 
and was looking downward when I was attracted 
by the sound of the most melodious voice I had 
eveir heard, uttering the most gracious and elo- 
quent words. On looking up, I saw Father Davis 
leaning heavily on his cane and in the act of 
dismissing a table of communicants. I then 
understood why every one who knew him re- 
marked his voice of remarkable sweetness and 
his words of matchless eloquence." 

He possessed a personality of great charm and 
strength. He was five feet ten inches tall, of 
spare body, but large, bony frame. His face was 
lean, large mouth, broad high fore- 
charactertstics head, large bright eyes, and promi- 
nent chin. He was of mild, pleas- 
ant manner, and friendly smiling countenance. 
In the pulpit he was solemn, deliberate, and 
dignified. His words were well chosen and 
his expression of thought was clear, convinc- 

78 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

ing, and impressive. A common remark about 
his preaching was, "William Davis can say as 
much in twenty-five words as almost any other 
man can say in one hundred words." As a pastor 
he was invariably popular and successful — loved 
and respected by all. His spirituality was a 
charm. In conversation he always introduced 
religion, and did so without giving offense. In 
evangelistic work he was eminently successful, 
whether as circuit preacher or presiding elder. 

Some idea of the intensity of his itinerant 
work may be obtained from a letter written by 
Mr. Davis to a friend in 1846, which is as fol- 
lows : 

"A few evenings ago, while sitting by my fire- 
side, looking forward to the labor and exposure 
and privation which I must endure during the 
conference year which has just commenced, my 
mind was carried back to the past, whereupon I 
hunted up my old diary, by the aid 

Personal f h j h j peached the following 

Letter ° 

facts and conclusions : That I have 
been an itinerant minister in the United Breth- 
ren Church sixteen years; that I have traveled 
for ministerial purposes 54,200 miles; that I 
have preached (or tried to preach) 5,110 ser- 
mons; that I have received as an earthly remu- 
neration $652 ; that the Lord has hitherto helped 
me ; and that it would be wickedness to distrust 
so good a friend in time to come. 

"My time has been spent chiefly on the fron- 
tiers, among poor people; and could I lead some 
of my rich brethren along Indian trails or more 

79 



Our Heroes, or 

dimly-beaten paths to the cabins in the woods 
and introduce them to meanly-clad parents, sur- 
rounded by almost naked children, and let them 
worship and mingle their prayers, songs, and 
tears around the same altar, they too would love 
those poor brethren, excuse their scanty contri- 
butions, and of their abundance give something 
for the support of the missionary who, perhaps, 
with ragged clothes and naked knees ( for I have 
preached with naked knees) is preaching on the 
frontiers. I do love the poor pioneer brethren 
in their cabins, and sympathize with the mission- 
ary who brings to them, at great personal sacri- 
fice, the bread of life; and if after death my 
spirit should be permitted to visit my brethren 
on earth, I would fly on speedy wings to the suf- 
fering missionary and whisper consolation in his 
ears." 

Who can read these utterances without feel- 
ing the heroism and grandeur of his character? 
He was a hero of the highest order. With his 
undaunted courage, he showed great tact, as the 
following incident wiH illustrate: One day he 
was riding through ai dense forest, when he saw 
a man with a rifle on his shoulder approaching 
him. Knowing that in those days there were 
highway men infesting the forests, and noticing 
that the man was of very coarse, rugged appear- 
ance, he did not feel very safe, and 
Tactful a £ once r esolved to resort to stra- 

Capture 

tegy; so, on meeting the man, he 
reined up his horse and said, "My friend, have 
you seen any lost sheep around in these parts?" 

80 





John Rukbush 



Stephen Lee 




John C. Bright 




Jacob B. Resteer 




Thomas J. Connor 




w 

o 

P 

w 

«., 

&22 

o . 

H - 

cG Eh 



8* 
33 



H 

El 

o 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

"No," said the man, "I have not. Have you lost 
any sheep?" "No, sir," said the preacher, "I 
have not, but my Master has, and he has sent me 
out into this new country to see if I could find 
any of them." "Then you are a stranger in these 
parts, are you?" said the man. "Yes, sir, I am," 
said the preacher, "and I am trying to find 
where Mr. Blank lives, for I am to preach in his 
house to-night." "Oh !" said the man, who, after 
all, had a big, generous heart under his rough 
exterior, "then you are a preacher, are you?" 
"Yes, that is what they call me," said Davis, 
"but I am just hunting up the lost sheep of the 
house of Israel, for that is what the Lord has 
sent me out into this wild country to do." 
"Well," said the man, "I think you can do it. A 
man that can talk to a stranger as you do is the 
man for me. Mr. Blank's clearing is just a mile 
away. I was going out on a hunt for wild tur- 
keys, but I '11 be around in time to hear you 
preach to-night." Mr. Davis thanked him and 
passed on. He had made one friend and cap- 
tured one man's confidence by his tact. True to 
his word, the hunter was there to hear him 
preach that night, and in due time was converted 
and became one of the prominent pioneer work- 
ers in the Church. 

Mr. Davis availed himself of his early advan- 
tages, meager though they were, to obtain an 
education. Its defects were constantly repaired 
in his subsequent life by diligent study on horse- 
back and beside the cabin fires of the new 
settlers. He served for a brief time as one of the 

81 



Our Heroes, or 

editors of the Telescope, and in 1849 was elected 
to the presidency of Otterbein University. This, 
however, was too confining, and 
president after one year we find him launch- 

ing out into ministerial work again 
by accepting the pastorate at Seven Mile, Ohio, 
where, for a time, in addition to his ministerial 
duties, he entered upon the practice of medicine, 
simply to meet the actual and increasing wants 
of his family, he having qualified himself for 
that profession, with all his sacrifices and hard 
labor, by completing a course in the Eclectic 
Medical College in Cincinnati. 

There came a time wiien he found his profes- 
sional work encroaching upon his ministerial 
duties, and as preaching was his life work, he 
gave up his practice of medicine to accept a call 
from the church at Muscatine, Iowa, removing 
with his family to that place in 1862. Here he 
remained two years, when he removed to West- 
ern College, where he became both pastor and 
president of the college, the former relations 
lasting three years and the latter about two. 
During this pastorate there occurred at Western 
Great one of the most extensive revivals 

Revival of religion perhaps ever known in 

the United Brethren Church in the 
State. The work of the meeting exhausted his 
strength; he was forced to retire for a few 
months. Early the next year he was appointed 
presiding elder over the whole of the Iowa Con- 
ference, which relations he filled for three years. 
During this time he removed to Lisbon, where he 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

subsequently became pastor of the Lisbon con- 
gregation for five consecutive years. At tbe close 
of this term his health permanently gave way. 
During the four closing years of his life he was 
an invalid. On January 31, 1878, his sun set 
calmly without a cloud. At five o'clock in the 
evening he closed his eyes ; then, leaving his clay 
casket, he entered upon his heavenly reward, 
His memory is a precious legacy. Longfellow 

has said : 

"When a great man dies, 

For years beyond our ken, 
The life he leaves behind him 
Lies upon the paths of men." 

And so William Davis has not been forgotten. 
The life he left behind him has not faded out, 
but has been growing more resplendent as the 
years have passed, and it still lies, and long will 
continue to lie, "upon the paths of men/' bright- 
ening their way to the kingdom of heaven. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A Pioneer Missionary m Western Pennsylvania. 

The early days of Jacob Bitter were spent in 
a humble home near Chambersburg, Pennsyl- 
vania, where he was born March 28, 1815. Here, 
under the kind care of a good father and mother, 
and with plenty of plain food, sunshine, and out- 
door exercise, he grew to be a strong, bright boy. 
As a rule, indeed, with scarcely an exception, the 
pioneer missionaries of America come not from 
homes of luxury, filled with sunshine and the 
fragrance of costly flowers, but from homes 
Early where poverty has made them fa- 

schooi miliar with the stern realities of 

life. His parents were very poor, 
but, nevertheless, had high ambitions for their 
son. At the age of twelve years he was placed 
in the family of his brother-in-law, residing in 
Ohambersburg, where he was given the privilege 
of a four years' course in the high school, where 
he laid the foundation of what was then consid- 
ered a fair education. 

When seventeen years of age, young Bitter 
was converted in the old stone church at Oham- 
bersburg, where a great revival was in progress. 
It was near midnight, and but few people re- 
mained in the house, when suddenly there came 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

a joy into his heart such as he had never before 
experienced. So clear to him was his acceptance 
with God that he never thereafter doubted the 
reality of experimental religion. A few weeks 
later he united with the Church and at once be- 
gan religious work. During the same year he 
was given license to exhort, and though a mere 
boy, he attracted much attention as a public 
speaker. We have the following account, from 
his own pen, of his first sermon : 

"We were having a great meeting in Green- 
castle. Brother Glossbrenner was there. He was 
quite a young man then. Brother Beinhart w r as 
also present and assisted in the meetings. Much 
interest was awakened among the colored people 
at the same time, and they called on us to give 
them preaching every night. Brother Glossbren- 
ner sent me to preach to them. A large number 
of white people attended. The text selected was, 
"Behold, I stand at the door and 
sermon knock." Before I went, I prayed to 

God in my closet that if he wanted 
me to preach, he should indicate it to me by giv- 
ing me some converts that night. Although I 
had been deeply impressed prior to this, yet then 
and there God blessed me powerfully. There 
were eleven seekers at the altar and seven con- 
versions, w T hile many others were made to re- 
joice." 

In 1833, a few months later, he attended the 
conference at Millarsburg, Lancaster County, 
Pennsylvania, where he was given license to 
preach. At that conference, pressing calls came 

85 



Our Heroes, or 

from the mountain regions in the western part 
of the State, where some of our people had 
located. In response to these calls, Mr. Ritter 
was appointed to what was then called Hunting- 
ton Circuit, although not at this time a properly- 
organized circuit. The field embraced the larger 
part of six counties, was about three hundred 
miles in circumference, with but one small 
church-house and a class of thirteen members at 
Bellefonte. A large field, therefore, was opened, 
in w x hich the boy preacher could test his mettle. 
Had he not possessed grit and push, he would 
have given up at the sight of such work. 

In those days, comparatively little attention 
was given to the matter of organization or the 
formation of classes. So absorbed were the mis- 
sionaries in the work of evangelism that they 
seldom took time to number Israel. To this work 
Mr. Ritter devoted himself with all the ardor of 
his soul. It was in harmony with his usual 
sagacity and foresight, which an- 
An organizer ticipated so many of the institu- 
tions and departments of Church 
work in later times. He went from house to 
house, talking and praying with those who pro- 
fessed conversion, and w T ho claimed, after a 
fashion, to have a membership in the Church, as 
well as with others whose bias was in our favor. 
Within six months the boy preacher had col- 
lected over one hundred names, which he formed 
into classes and organizations. Later he received 
others into the Church publicly. During the 
year he held a camp-meeting on the circuit, 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

which resulted in seventy-five conversions, sixty 
of whom united with the Church. Prejudice 
against the work gradually subsided, and Mr. 
Bitter went to conference the following year to 
report a membership on the mission of above two 
hundred. The territory he then traveled has 
since developed into eight circuits and six sta- 
tions. 

Another new department introduced by Doc- 
tor Eitter was that of ministerial support. It 
had been the custom of the early fathers to 
preach without demanding a salary. As a rule, 
they had other sources of income. Doctor Eitter 
gave his entire time to the work and had no other 
means of support. The Methodist Church was 
also passing through this same stage of transi- 
tion. Bishop Asbury preached many years for 

the small sum of sixty dollars a 
work rUCtive y ear - Doctor Eitter advocated that 

ministerial support was absolutely 
essential, and in harmony with the divine plan 
in the evangelization of the world. It was under 
protest that he first asked the people for free- 
will offerings for the support of his work. When 
introducing those new measures, he manifested 
a noble Christian spirit and showed great ability 
in meeting and subduing opposing elements. 
During the second year of his Avork on the charge 
he succeeded in installing stewards at each ap- 
pointment. For some time following, at several 
of the appointments, the doors were closed 
against him on this account, but he continued his 
work with even greater diligence, preaching in 

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Our Heroes, or 

private homes and in the open air, where souls 
were saved and added to the Church at almost 
every service. 

Doctor Ritter was also a leading spirit in the 
pioneer educational work of the Church. He has 
the distinguished honor of having taken the first 
definite steps toward the establishment of an 
pioneer in institution of learning. In this 

Educational movement he was heartily sup- 
Work ported by Isaiah Potter, J. R. Sitt- 

man, J. Wallaces, I. J. Huber, W. Beighel, and 
J. B. Ressler. 

The following resolutions appear in the Alle- 
gheny Conference Minutes of 1847 : 

"Resolved, That this conference take into con- 
sideration the propriety of erecting a, literary in- 
stitution to be located where this conference may 
direct, for the education of our young people, 
and that said institution, with all pertaining to 
it, to be under the direction and control of this 
conference. (Signed) J. Ritter." 

"Resolved, That this conference now take some 
efficient measure to carry this project into opera- 
tion, such as the electing of trustees and an 
agent who shall travel to solicit funds for the 
support of said project, ( Signed) I. Potter." 

"Resolved, That Brother Jacob Ritter be ap- 
pointed traveling agent to travel during the 
present year through the conference district to 
solicit donations to> be appropriated to the build- 
ing of a literary institution of learning. 

"(Signed) I. J. Huber." 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

"Resolved, That any minister of our confer- 
ence who opposes Brother Bitter in the collec- 
tion of funds for the contemplated institution or 
exerts an influence against him, shall be liable to 
charges. (Signed) I. Potter." 

Before the adjournment of the conference in 
which these resolutions were introduced and en- 
dorsed, and notwithstanding the opposition 
which was asserted, $1,800 was secured on the 
conference floor with which to begin the enter- 
prise. 

Doctor Bitter has justly won for himself a 
place among the heroes in the pioneer work of 
the Church. He served twenty-four years as an 
itinerant in the mountains of Pennsylvania, 
where his salary averaged scarcely one hundred 
dollars a year. The traveling, including thou- 
sands of miles per year, was done on foot or on 
horseback. He moved about once 
Tt\nerant * n * wo y ears ? sometimes a distance 

of one hundred miles in a road 
wagon. He was the founder of several of the 
largest and most influential churches in the con- 
ference. He built the first church in Johnstown, 
where he found ten members and no class organ- 
ized. He was placed there as a missionary, the 
conference appropriating fifteen dollars the first 
year, after which this small appropriation was 
withdrawn. 

Doctor Bitter spared himself in nothing, but 
gave himself fully to God. He had a will that 
was once his own, but he transferred it to the 

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Our Heroes, or 

keeping and guidance of the Lord, whose faith- 
ful servant he was. When he entered the minis- 
try, he had a good horse and about two hundred 
dollars in money ; when he located, after twenty- 
four years of missionary service, all that he had 
received from the Church and all his own money, 
even his watch, were gone. He knew the mean- 
ing of poverty and suffering, his family living on 
bread and water, potatoes and molasses and 
garden teas, without a cent of money in the house 
for weeks at a time. 

He was a preacher of unusual power, swaying 
the people by the force of his emotion, eloquence, 
and earnestness. He was also a most tender and 
successful pastor. When located where it could 
be done, he would visit the sick, not only in the 
town, but would make long journeys in the new 
mountain territories in order to whisper the mes- 
sage of salvation into the ears of 
past©r Cr *^ e suffering and dying. He was 

always kindly received and saw 
many blessed of God on their sick-beds. Indeed, 
he was considered a master in the art of pastoral 
visiting. His custom was, after greeting the 
family, to speak a few words of comfort and en- 
couragement, probably reading a few verses of 
scripture, and always invoking the peace of 
heaven upon the home. On one occasion, when 
passing through a certain town, he stopped to 
visit the proprietor of a hotel, a very worldly 
gentleman. He was kindly received and invited 
to remain for dinner. Before leaving, Doctor 
Hitter remarked that it was always his custom to 

90 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

have a few words of prayer on such occasions. 
The gentleman was manifestly embarrassed by 
the statement, and said that he had thirteen 
boarders who were at that time in the barroom, 
and that he did not know how it would strike 
them. "Oh," said the preacher, "I will make that 
all right," and, entering the barroom, he invited 
them to come in for the service. All were sub- 
dued by the presence of the man of God and 
readily consented to his request. Among them 
was a music-teacher, whom the preacher invited 
to sing a few verses, after which the minister 
offered a fervent prayer. All were melted to 
tears, and, on leaving, the music-teacher pressed 
a little paper into the hand of Mr. Hitter, which 
contained $7.50, remarking that his mother was a 
praying woman and that the prayer had awak- 
ened tender memories and had deeply touched 
his heart. 

The roads in the mountain district where Mr. 
Hitter traveled were in bad condition. He 
writes: "I never stuck in the mud as did Mr. 
Cart wright, but several times I had to swim my 
horse across the swollen streams. I put my 

saddle-pockets over my shoulders, 
Hardships got up on my knees in the saddle, 

and went over safely. Frequently 
I slept in garrets covered with clapboards, 
through which the snow sifted, while the winds 
blew, and in the morning my bed would be cov- 
ered with snow and sleet." He was a man of 
action and would surmount seemingly unsur- 
mountable difficulties in order to meet his en- 

91 



Our Heroes, or 

gagements. During the twenty-four years of his 
itinerant life he claims to have missed only one 
appointment, a blinding snowstorm and drifted 
snow hedging up his way. 

Doctor Bitter was a close student. For several 
years he devoted most of his little income to the 
purchase of books. During the early period of 
his ministry he secured Fletcher's Notes, Wat- 
son's Institutes, Brown's Biblical Dictionary, 
the works of Josephus, and Clark's Commentary. 
He was an able writer. His productions, both 
in the Telescope and in book form, 
a student bear the stamp of scholarship and 

careful research. He was a wise, 
far-seeing, and aggressive man ; his schemes were 
large; his faith was strong, his labors unremit- 
ting, and he deservedly held a high place in the 
thought and confidence of his colaborers. 

In 1850, Doctor Bitter located and moved to 
Liverpool, Pennsylvania, where he took up the 
practice of medicine and became eminently suc- 
cessful as a physician. He then had the misfor- 
tune to have his home burned, with all of his 
possessions. His turning away from the ministry 
became a matter of future regret. Speaking in a 
conference session some years later, his heart 
was broken, when he remarked: "Let me here 
say that although I was literally starved out of 
the field, yet I have regretted a thousand times 
that I located. Since that time my sea has been 
a rough one, and although I still try to preach 
and heal the sick and often do some good, I hope, 
in talking and praying with the dying, yet the 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

command, 'Go preach/ seems constantly before 
me. I speak from a sad experience. Brethren, 
called of God to the ministry, do not locate." 
From his final report to his conference, we insert 
the following : 

"Brethren of the conference, we have no reason 
to be discouraged, for it is but a few years since 
we organized in these mountains, at which time 
we had to beard the lion and hear the yell of the 
panther; had but a few members, some two or 
three circuits, half a meeting-house, 
luTort anc * a ^ ew Preachers; but, few as 

they were, they felt their commis- 
sion written in letters of fire on their hearts, and, 
under God, we have prospered. We have at pres- 
ent more than fifty preachers, about thirty meet- 
ing-houses, twelve circuits, two stations, one mis- 
sion, about four thousand members, and at 
present have invitations to the State of New 
York and in almost every conceivable direction, 
and to some of the greatest cities of our Union. 
The Lord who calmed the sea and shook the 
ocean will make the world know that he is our 
God and that we are not the least among the 
nations." 

On the morning of February 4, 1901, having 
reached the mature age of eighty-five years, ten 
months, and six days, this veteran soldier of the 
Cross was released from service to enter upon 
his reward in heaven. He died at Liverpool, 
Pennsylvania, His body sleeps in the beautiful 
little cemetery of that mountain town, awaiting 
the resurrection morning. 

93 



Our Heroes, or 



LESSON EL 



Chapter V. 

1. What place did John Calvin McNamar occupy in the early 
development of the denomination? 

2. When was he born, and of what nationality was he? 

3. Where, and under what circumstances was he converted? 

4. Whom was he elected to succeed as Bishop? 

5. Of what financial plan was he the author? 

6. x What can you say of him as a preacher? 

7. What can you say of his power with men? 

8. Give brief statement of his missionary zeal. 

9. W 7 hat did Rev. George Bonebrake say of him? 

10. In what special work was he peculiarly effective? 

11. What was Mr. Spayth's tribute to McNamar? 

12. When and where did he die? Where was he buried? 

Chapter VI. 
1 W T ho were among the first missionaries of north Ohio? 

2. What were some of the difficulties of travel ? 

3. Who was the first missionary in the "Black Swamp" ? 

4. What can you say of Jacob Baulus prior to his coming to 
Ohio? 

5. When did he reach his frontier home, and what was his 
first work? 

6. Describe the conditions he met in his mission field. 

7. Who were some of his first helpers? 

8. When was Sandusky Conference organized, and with how 
many members? 

9. What can you say of Jacob Baulus as a builder? 

10. To what special things may his influence be attributed? 

11. What of his term of service and the spirit of this hero of 
the Cross? 

12. What was his dying testimony? 

13. Who is mentioned as one of Mr. Baulus' most helpful 
eolaborers ? 

14. What is said of the work of Stephen Lilebridge? 

Chapter VII. 

1. What is said of the prominence of William Davis in the 
history of the Church? 

2. When and where was he born, and what was hi3 early 
training? 

3. When Tras he converted and when did he begin his ministry? 



94 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

4. When was Indiana Conference organized? 

5. Describe Mr. Davis as he started to his first circuit, and 
the perils of the journey. 

6. What happy surprise did his mother and sisters arrange 
for him on his return? 

7. How did he purchase his first "preacher's outfit" ? 

8. Describe his journey to St. Joseph mission. 

9. In what towns in northern Indiana was he the first min- 
ister to preach the gospel? 

10. When was Wabash Conference organized? 

11. Name some of the trials that came to Mr. Davis during his 
ministry in north Indiana. 

12. What can you say of him as a preacher? 

13. What incident is given of his tactful capture of a man? 

14. In what different capacities did he serve the Church? 

15. What can you say of him as presiding elder and evangelist? 

Chapter VIII. 

1. When and where was Jacob Ritter born? 

2. What were his early school advantages? 

3. When and where was he converted? 

4. When did he unite with the conference, and where did he 
begin his itinerant work? 

5. In what kind of work was Doctor Ritter a pioneer? 

6. What place does he occupy in the pioneer educational work 
of the Church? 

7. What term of service did he give to missionary work in 
the mountains of Pennsylvania? 

8. What can you say of his sacrifices and struggles with 
poverty ? 

9. What is said of him as a preacher? As a pastor? 

10. Describe his visit with the hotel proprietor. 

11. What does he say of the difficulties of travel in western 
Pennsylvania at that time ? 

12. What is said of Doctor Ritter as a student? 

13. Give brief statement of his final report to his conference. 

14. What statement did he make near the close of his life? 

15. When and where did he die? Where was he buried? 



95 



CHAPTER IX. 

A Missionary Hero in the "Western Reserve" 

Among the many gifted and heroic men who 
have devoted their lives to the cause of pioneer 
mission work in the United Brethren Church, 
none have met with more distinguished success 
than Alexander Biddle. His paternal grand- 
father was a native of Hesse-Cassel, Germany, 

With his three brothers, Peter, 
Ancestry Thomas, and Andrew, he emigrated 

to America about the year 1760, 
settling in the colony of Maryland, from which 
colony Andrew served with distinction as an offi- 
cer in the War of the Revolution. His mother 
was of English descent, her people having emi- 
grated from England with the second Lord Balti- 
more about the year 1647. 

Alexander Biddle was born in Bedford County, 
Pennsylvaniai, April 24, 1810. When five years 
of age, his father cut his way through the dense 
forests into Beaver County, where he moved his 
family. In that lonely region of pure air and 
rugged scenery the boy grew to manhood. Thus, 
at the very outset, he was inducted into the expe- 
rience of pioneer life. To settle in a new country 
and to go forward in the face of obstacles came 
natural to him. From his parents he inherited 

96 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

a hardy constitution and the highest principles 
of independence, industry, and downright hon- 
esty. His school advantages were very limited. 
The tuition of an Irish schoolmaster for two 
winter seasons gave him the rudiments of read- 
ing, writing, and arithmetic, but in after years he 
applied himself closely as a student and built up 
an education of surprising breadth and thorough- 
ness. 

Until he was about eighteen years of age, 
young Biddle gave the matter of religion but 
little thought. He occasionally attended the serv- 
ices of the Episcopal Church with his mother, of 
which she was a member. On a summer evening, 
in the year 1828, while leisurely walking one of 
the streets of Pittsburg, he passed a plain church- 
building in which services were then being held 
by the colored people. He was attracted within 
Turning:- by the loud voice of the minister, 

Point who was picturing in livid colors 

the sufferings of a lost soul. The 
sermon made a profound impression upon the 
young man. Indeed, it was the turning-point in 
his life. While attending a Methodist camp- 
meeting some time later, a mighty conviction of 
sin came upon him, but not until the fourth of 
October of the following year did he experience 
the peace of forgiveness, at which time he joined 
the United Brethren Church, and was baptized in 
the Ohio River by Rev. Jacob Geisinger. De- 
scribing his experience, he says: "As we came 
up out of the water, the glory of God seemed to 
appear. The sky flamed with supernatural 

97 



Our Heroes, or 

brightness : the hills about me were transformed 
into mountains of gold; the river was as the 
River of Life, and the trees as the trees of Para- 
dise. Heaven was opened and in its splendor my 
soul was bathed." He believed he had seen the 
King in his beauty, and in the strength of that 
faith he walked all his days. 

Mr. Biddle at once began religious work, and 
at twenty years of age his ability as a preacher 
was attracting much attention. He joined the 
Muskingum Conference in 1831, and was licensed 
to preach by Bishop Henry Kumler, Sr. His first 
circuit to which he was appointed by that confer- 
ence covered Harrison, Guernsey, 
First circuit and Monroe counties. It was two 
hundred miles around, with twenty- 
four appointments. There being but two little 
church-buildings in the territory, he held services 
in private homes, in barns, or in the woods, as 
seemed best. His father gave him a horse, saddle, 
and the indispensable saddle-bags, while his 
mother furnished his wardrobe. His library con- 
sisted of a Bible and hymn-book. A little later 
he added Walker's Dictionary and Clark's Com- 
mentaries. He had a clear, ringing, majestic 
voice and was a sweet singer ; but, above all, he 
had his marvelous personal experience to tell, 
and tell it he did with boundless enthusiasm. At 
the end of the year he reported fifty additions to 
the Church and a salary of fifty-four dollars. 

The following year he was appointed to Lisbon 
Circuit. It wsjS three hundred miles in circum- 
ference, with twenty-four appointments and no 

98 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

church-houses. Four new societies were formed, 
out of which grew the Western Eeserve Confer- 
ence. Seventy-two new members were added to 
the Church during the year, and for his work he 
received seventy-two dollars. Four years later 
he was appointed to this same charge, which 
then included four hundred miles of travel, 
with forty-nine appointments. James McGraw 
was appointed to assist in the work. It was a 
year of marvelous success. A meet- 

vLTories in S was lield in Beaver County, 

Pennsylvania, resulting in forty 
conversions, of whom three became preachers. 
A wonderful manifestation of power was also 
witnessed at a camp-meeting in Stark County, 
Ohio. A band of wicked men organized to break 
up the meeting. McGraw w^as preaching when 
the mob appeared. He hesitated for a moment, 
when Mr. Biddle arose, and, lifting his massive 
form to its great height, he cried with a mighty 
voice, "Lord God Almighty, let thy power 
come." The people responded, "Amen," and 
come it did. The leader of the mob fell upon 
the ground, crying for mercy, while his fol- 
lowers fled, and a harvest of souls was gathered. 
"In the Western Reserve, distances between 
settlements were generally great, and the roads 
very bad — mere paths, made by cutting out the 
underbrush and marking the trees. As the soil 
is composed of rich clay and loam, and as much 
of the country is flat, the roads in all seasons be- 
came very muddy; and when half frozen in the 
spring and fall, our horses suffered extremely. In 

99 



Our Heroes, or 

passing across a prairie from one ridge of tim- 
bered land to another, in foggy or snowy weath- 
er, one was often out of sight of timbered land, 
and the paths were so dim, especially in snow- 
storms, that the traveler risked losing his way 
and perishing of the frost before he could reach 
a human habitation. To increase the danger, 
these prairies were frequently covered with wa- 
ter, and if frozen, but not so as to bear man or 
beast, both were liable to be wounded by the ice. 
We had but few bridges and were obliged to ford 
streams, or to cross the ice. Sometimes we took 
saddle and saddle-bags to a canoe and swam the 
horse by its side ; sometimes when unable to get 
our horses across we went to our appointments 
afoot rather than disappoint a congregation. 
Preachers were often lost in the woods. Lemuel 
Lane was attacked one night by wolves; sticks, 
clubs, shouts proved ineffectual; he bethought 
him of music charming the savage breast; he 
sang, and the retreating wolves left him to sleep 
in the snow." These words of a missionary, 
written in 1832, may give some idea of the diffi- 
culties encountered by Mr. Biddle on his first 
mission fields. 

This veteran hero of the Cross recognized the 
period from 1837 to 1847, when he served as pre- 
siding elder, as the golden years of his ministry. 
They were fruitful of toils, trials, and conflicts 
and most marvelous victories. In the year 1841 
he found a community dominated by a Mr. Dilk, 
who professed to be God. He was a large man, 
of most commanding presence, piercing eye, 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

thrilling voice, and overmastering will. In the 
face of the greatest opposition and threats of 
injury, Mr. Biddle conducted a meeting in that 
community, which resulted in com- 
Burntd pletely breaking the power of this 

false prophet and adding many of 
his delivered followers to the Church. Return- 
ing from this triumph, he found his home in 
ashes and his family homeless and broken- 
hearted. He rode by the ruins, unmoved, to 
where his family was stopping, but when his 
little boy, John, climbed upon his knee and 
placed his arms about his neck and with sobs 
said, "Papa, we have no* home," the mighty 
spirit of his father gave way, and, rising from 
his seat, he turned his face to the wall and wept 
like a child. But his poverty and privations 
were soon forgotten in his purpose to glorify 
God and save souls — an aim which he con- 
stantly pursued like a giant of destiny, with no 
regard for losses, defeats, or obstacles. 

As a preacher and evangelist, Alexander 
Biddle stands in the history of the early mis- 
sionary work of Eastern Ohio without a peer. 
A few of his triumphs are here given : 

At the dedication of a church in Rochester, 
Pennsylvania, seventy were at the altar at one 
time and over one hundred were added to the 
church. 

One of his greatest triumphs came at a camp- 
meeting held on his father-in-law's farm. It 
was a veritable Pentecost. On Sunday morning 
the service began at eight o'clock and continued 

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Our Heroes, or 

throughout the entire day. It seemed that noth- 
ing could stop it. Sinners flocked to the altar, 
found peace, and went away to bring others. 
All day and all night the glorious work went on, 
and not until the new day opened could the 
preacher stop for rest. The spoils of that day 
and night were oyer one hundred souls. 

Near Canton, Ohio, he began a mission in a 
new community, and held services in a wagon 
shop. The first week but little impression 
seemed to be made, but on the second Sabbath 
the congregation was mightily moved. The 
preacher swept everything before the torrent of 
his eloquence. Thirty-five persons came to the 
altar during the sermon. The 
tJiu^p^s 110 whole community was reformed, a 
class of seventy-five members or- 
ganized, and a church-house built. In one year, 
in his district, one thousand new members 
were added to the church. He closed his fifteen 
years of service in the Muskingum Conference 
with a wonderful revival in Stark County, Ohio, 
where scores of souls were converted and united 
with the church. When he joined the confer- 
ence in 1831, there were three itinerant mem- 
bers; when he left in 1848, there were twenty- 
eight ministers and charges. Most of this in- 
crease is due to his powerful influence and work. 

There were times when Mr. Biddle and his 
family were in great want. In 1850 he endorsed 
notes for friends and was compelled to pay 
them. One of his children thus speaks of that 
occasion : 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

"I was in niy ninth year when the sheriff came 
to attach father's property. He asked how many 
horses we had, how many sheep, and all about 
his property. Father told him the truth to the 
letter and gave their probable value. We had 
some twenty or thirty sheep and mother thought 
a great deal of them. After the papers had been 
made out and a neighbor went on his bond for 
the property, mother said to him, with tears in 
her eyes, 'Why did you not save out a few of the 
sheep?' He made no reply." 

In 1847, Mr. Biddle moved to Crawford 
County, Ohio, and the following year joined the 
Sandusky Conference. His distinguished ability 
and leadership were at once recognized. He 
represented the conference in the General Con- 
ferences of 1857, 1861, and 1865. In these gath- 
erings he always took a prominent part, and on 
each of these occasions he was prominently 
spoken of for bishop. He identified himself with 
every progressive movement of the Church and 
was a close student of theology and history. He 
saw his Church changing, but he kept abreast of 
his age and was always young and receptive. 
His loyalty to his Church was one of his chief 

characteristics. He was one of the 
a prophet Lord's prophets, who saw things 

that were to be and spoke of them 
as if already present; hence he was a leader of 
God's hosts. In the midst of discouragement he 
was always brave; in counsel, always wise; in 
service, always ready. His son, an attorney in 
Fort Scott, Kansas, says: "I never saw father 

103 



Our Heroes, or 

weep but twice. One morning, as he was spread- 
ing the clothing of my mother's death-bed over 
a pile of stones in the yard, and hanging some 
on the trees, wiiile her body was in a coffin in 
the room, I, a boy of nine years old, spoke to 
him about my mother, and it so affected him 
that he wept aloud, and caused me to shudder. 
I could not conceive how so strong a man could 
give way as he did on that occasion, but it was 
like tearing an oak-tree out by its roots. On 
another occasion, father's district as presiding 
elder was in western Ohio, quite a distance from 
home, and he was away from home on each trip 
nine weeks. This was shortly after my mother's 
death in 1857, and our house was kept by a 
housekeeper. When he left us on the first trip, 
as he bade us good-by, great tears coursed over 
his cheeks." 

One of the great occasions of Mr. Biddle's 
life, showing his power over men, came to him 
while residing in Galion, Ohio. One of his 
parishioners, a railroad engineer, had been 
killed in a railway collision. When the people 
began to gather for the funeral, it was apparent 
that the church would accommodate but a small 
per cent, of the gathering throng, so he sug- 
gested that they adjourn to* the public square. 
Using a carriage as his pulpit in the center of 
the square, he addressed the assembled multi- 
tudes. He was in good condition, and his great, 
thrilling voice rang out over the vast throng. 
The people hung upon his eloquent words for 
one hour, and began to stir only when he sat 

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as a 
Preacher 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

down. A prominent attorney who was present 
gives the following description: "The square 
was literally packed with people. Every office 
power an( i every building around the 

square was filled. Every one could 

hear him distinctly, and he seemed 
to speak from inspiration. He held this vast 
assemblage for one hour. Not one person left, 
and he had perfect order from the beginning of 
his discourse to the end." Mr. Biddle was a 
man of large mold in body and mind, full of 
vigor and hope. He was fearless, independent, 
and industrious, positive and progressive. He 
grew with the people and was always abreast of 
the foremost ranks of his time. 

Mr. Biddle was an optimist of the noblest 
type. He was wholly given up to God and 
absorbed by his prospects, which constantly ex- 
panded before his vision. God and the world 
passed before him in* greatness. He had the 
divine ability of heart to separate the grandeur 

of earth from its infirmities, to 
An optimist hear strains of beautiful music 

rising above its harshest tumult, 
and thus the road of life was taken up by his 
great heart and transfigured until it became like 
Jacob's ladder — a way to heaven. 

The discipline of life served to broaden and 
deepen his faith, so that at last he stood as 
nearly a perfect specimen of fully-rounded char- 
acter as could be found. He belonged to a class 
of men who seem to be chosen of Heaven to illus- 
trate the sublime possibilities of Christian 

105 



Our Heroes ; or 

attainment — men of seraphic fervor and devo- 
tion, and whose one overmastering passion is to 
win souls to Christ and to be holy like him them- 
selves. 

Father Biddle retired from active service in 
1876, but did not cease to preach until he had 
passed his eightieth year. He was for sixty- 
eight years a minister in the United Brethren 
Church, and at the time of his death was the 
oldest living preacher in the denomination!. The 
burdens of those years were exceedingly heavy, 
but his physical endurance kept pace and he had 
reason to be thankful that he was of the hardy 
race of American pioneers. 

On the first of February, 1899, having reached 
the mature age of eighty-eight years, nine 
months, and seven days, he exchanged earth for 
heaven and everlasting life. Awhile before his 
death he wrote: "I am feeling keenly the bur- 
den of almost eighty-seven years, but I am en- 
joying fair health. As to the future, I am living 
by the day, with a bright prospect 

Slurf* of the heirshi P of eternal life. In 

the quiet of my lonely home, my 
soul feasts on the riches of divine grace. The 
time of the sunset has come, and its tints are 
those of a golden autumn day. The sun is going 
down without a cloud, and as the earthly is 
fading out of sight, the heavenly breaks upon 
my vision and I long to be at home in the bright, 
eternal day which has no sunset." His body 
sleeps beside the Biddle Church, a few miles 
from Galion, Ohio. 

106 



CHAPTER X. 

Leader of the Advance Guard to Oregon. 

The pioneer missionaries of the Church who 
opened up to Christian civilization the great 
West were a militant force. They have consti- 
tuted the vanguard of American civilization in 

its march westward. "The warfare 
Force 11 * was no ^ only against the untamed 

forces of nature, but also against 
the unchecked and undisciplined passions of 
men. They walked their rough pathway with a 
firm step that indicated a strong faith and a 
lofty objective." Their spirit was heroic; ease 
and earthly reward they sought not. Great is 
the debt of the nation to those men, and scant 
the patience we need show toward their critics. 
Upon the breaking out of the gold excitement 
in California in 1849, and the establishment of 
the overland route between the States and the 
Pacific Coast, the Willamette Valley of Oregon 
Territory, being of easy access from the mining 
region, began to fill up rapidly with immi- 
grants. These early settlements grew more rap- 
idly on account of the grants of land by the 
Government to actual settlers. Among those 
who immigrated to Oregon in those early days 
were several United Brethren families. Faithful 

107 



Oar Heroes, or 

to their Church attachment and feeling the 

dearth of spiritual instruction in that new and 

unevangelized country, they began 

toegon r ° m to P lead throu g h the Telescope 

that the Church might send them 
preachers of their own denomination to bring 
the bread of life to the needy, perishing souls of 
that then foreign country. 

In the meantime God was preparing a man in 
central Indiana to answer the call, in the person 
of T. J. Connor. He was at this time presid- 
ing elder of the newly-organized White River 
Conference. These appeals from far-off Oregon 
so touched his heart that he came to recognize 
them as a call of God to him personally. 

He was born near the little village of Colerain, 
Hamilton County, Ohio*, April 6, 1821. About 
two years later he was taken by his parents, 
James and Mary Connor, to Franklin County, 
Indiana, At the age of thirteen he was con- 
verted and united with the Church. It was 
under the ministry of Aaron Farmer, whose 
heroic services in the pioneer work of the Church 
in Indiana, have been an inspiration to those who 
have come after him, that young Connor received 
his early religious impressions. At that early 
age he gave evidence of a call to the ministry. 
Five years later he was given license to preach, 
and six years later he began his itinerant work 
in the Indiana Conference. 

Mr. Connor was married in September, 1838, 
to Miss Phoebe N. Borden, who became a faith- 
ful sharer and sympathizer in all his future toils 

108 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

and sacrifices. She, too, was impressed with the 

call from Oregon. One evening in the winter of 

1851 they talked the matter over; 

^ a11 _ then, kneeling in prayer amid sobs, 

Answered 7 ° r 7 

they consecrated themselves anew 
to God for his service in that far-away field if 
he would open the way. 

The following day Mr. Connor wrote a little 
article which was published in one of the Church 
periodicals, advocating the opening of this new T 
mission and volunteering to go as a missionary 
if the Church so desired. 

Within a short time he was invited to attend 
a missionary conference at Canal Winchester, 
Ohio. During the meeting he delivered an 
address of great power which stirred the hearts 
of all present. Many spoke of it as the greatest 
missionary address to which they had ever 
listened. Dr. L. Davis, in a few well-chosen 
words, appealed to the audience for an offering, 
and in a few moments five hundred dollars were 
secured for work in Oregon. 

In January, 1852, Mr. Connor was appointed 
missionary to Oregon, with the recommendation 
that he organize a colony to go with him, and 
that he go out in 1853. On learning of his ap- 
pointment, he wrote: "The recollections of 
eighteen years of delightful and intimate asso- 
ciation with the Church in Indiana about to be 
broken up, and the difficulties, dangers, and pri- 
vations of the journey, and last, but not least, 
the responsibilities of the mission ran through 
my mind like electric flashes, which for a time 

109 



Our Heroes, or 

well nigh overwhelmed me and prompted the in- 
voluntary exclamation, "Lord, who is sufficient 
for these things?" 

He at once began the preparation for the jour- 
ney, recommending that a colony of from thirty 
to forty families be induced to immigrate, which 
would form the nucleus of a circuit ; then a con- 
ference; afterwards many conferences on the 
Pacific Coast. Plans for the colony now began 
preparation *° take shape. Council Bluffs was 
for the named as the meeting-place, and 

Journey ^^ 2Q ^ -^g^ wflfl determined 

upon as the date for leaving. Mr. Connor left 
his home at Hartsville, Indiana, February 4, for 
Cincinnati, Ohio, from which place he went by 
boat to Keokuk, Iowa, arriving March 24, and 
before the meeting of the Board of Missions he 
w r as far on his journey toward the mission field. 
On his arrival at Keokuk he met with his first 
discouragement. A gentleman who had promised 
to have his teams in readiness in order that they 
might proceed by wagon to Council Bluffs, had 
disappointed him and declined to go with him, 
which placed Mr. Connor in a very trying and 
embarrassing position. But he could not be de- 
feated, because he did not doubt God's plan con- 
cerning his future work. He at once began to 
Early arrange his own outfit, and after 

Discourage- ten days' arduous work started on 
his journey to Council Bluffs, At 
some point on the way he was detained three 
days by constant rain and high water. At an- 
other point his teamster received a severe wound 

no 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

by an unfortunate stroke of an ax, which dis- 
abled him for further service. On that morning, 
April 16, he writes : "This is surely a dark day 
for us. I am entirely destitute of help, with the 
care and management of four yoke of cattle and 
two horses on my hands. But, although our way 
seems hedged up and the prospect rather gloomy, 
I feel confident that all is right." 

On May 2 he reached Council Bluffs, where he 
found sixteen families in waiting. Four besides 
himself were ministers, in all about ninety-eight 
persons, among whom was his faithful associate 
and sharer in his toils and triumphs in his mis- 
sionary work, Mr. J. Kenoyer. Three days 
later, when ready to start on the long journey 
fraught with constant hardship and peril, he 
writes : "It is with long and lingering looks and 
thoughts of former days that we leave the settle- 
ments behind us. Before us are the much dreaded 
plains and mountain heights inhabited only by 
poor savages. May the God of Israel direct our 
steps." 

No missionary of the Cross ever faced a more 
heroic undertaking. It involved greater hard- 
ships than w r ould a journey to-day to the re- 
motest corners of the earth. The difficulties of 
the journey will be appreciated if it is borne in 
mind that the missionary party were all stran- 
Perils gers in the country, that there was 

of the no well-defined road, and fre- 

quently not even a trail or a track, 
except that of the buffalo. When Doctor Whit- 
man and Mr. Spaulding were sent out by the 

111 



Our Heroes, or 

American Board in 1836, and were arranging to 
have their wives accompany them, the first white 
women that ever crossed the continent, an 
Indian artist in Pittsburg said, "You might per- 
haps get through yourselves, but you can never 
get the women through ; they will be kidnaped." 
Mr. Connor, being a man of actions rather than 
speech, did not write a detailed account of the 
journey. On June 17 he writes : "We have 
reached Fort Laramie, on the Platte River. 
Company all well. Travel on the plains, though 
laborious and perilous, is not entirely destitute 
of interest. The scenery is most delightful ; the 
Indians are numerous," Two months later he 
writes: "We are now fifty miles east of Grand 
Rounds, 260 miles from the Dalles, and about 
220 miles from Oregon City. We have suffered 
much from thirst, hunger, and storms, which 
sometimes threatened our lives. Our teams are 
so far reduced that we shall not be able to pass 

the Cascades without buying more. 
comTJted ^ ur progress has been slow, our 

trials great, but the God of Israel 
has been with us and mercifully protected us." 
On October 9 he reports the following from 
Maysville, Oregon : "We have accomplished our 
long and perilous journey. Our company was 
blessed with health except my wife, who was 
taken seriously ill September 10, and for some 
eight days was apparently at the point of death. 
We reached the Dalles of Columbia on the 19th 
of September, and, owing to the affliction of my 
wife, James Edwards and myself decided to go 

112 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

the rest of the way by water. The other members 
of the company preferred crossing the moun- 
tains, and hence our little consecrated band was 
broken after having stuck together and shared 
each others' joys and sorrows through the long 
trip thus far. Brother Berthands came out to 
meet us some twenty miles east of the Cascades, 
bringing with him a fine, fat ox for beef and a 
fresh yoke of work cattle, which afforded 
Brother Kenoyer much-needed assistance." 

"On the 26th, Brother Edwards and myself, 
with our families and effects, reached the settle- 
ments in the long-sought Willamette Valley. 
Here we arrived six months and eighteen days 
from the time we left our pleasant homes in 
Indiana, Five months and twenty-eight days 
from the time we left Council Bluffs." 

It had been the purpose of the missionaries to 
start a United Brethren colony, but they soon 
found that this would be impracticable, as they 
could not find desirable unoccupied land in suffi- 
ciently large bodies to do so, so they scattered 
about in the Willamette, which was very much 
better, from the standpoint of a missionary en- 
terprise, than the colonial scheme; each family 
became a nucleus for a United Brethren society. 
Mr. Connor, who was appointed by the Board 
of Missions to superintend the work, at once 
began his missionary tours, assisted by Mr. 
J. Kenoyer. They at first spent about three 
months looking up United Brethren people. 
They traveled extensively through the wild sec- 
tion of the Willamette and Umpqua valleys. 

113 



Our Heroes, or 

The first quarterly conference was organized 
in May, 1854. It was a delightful service. More 
than a year had passed since they had enjoyed 
such a privilege. At this meeting a number of 
souls were converted and ten were added to the 
Church. The offerings amounted to eighty dol- 
lars. The work was then divided into two dis- 
tricts, each embracing an area of about three 
thousand square miles. The northern district, 
in charge of Kenoyer, was named Yam Hill. The 
southern district was named Willamette, This 
territory was constantly enlarged 
Then—Now during the year. At this time Ore- 
gon Territory, including Washing- 
ton and Idaho, contained about twenty thousand 
white people. Now the State has a population 
of at least one million people. Sixty years ago 
the Indian population was probably about one 
hundred thousand; now it is less than twenty 
thousand. The people then lived in small log 
cabins with an earth floor and a roof made of 
pine boughs. In place of glass windows, cotton 
cloth was used. They seldom used chairs. Four 
stakes driven in the ground and covered with 
rough boards made their table. All cooking was 
done over an open fire. They had no matches, 
but obtained their fire by flint and steel. 

Mr. Connor and the three ministers accom- 
panying him have the honor of being the first 
United Brethren preachers to bear the gospel 
message to the people of this new and undevel- 
oped country of such marvelous possibilities. In 
a letter dated July, 1854, he says: "Our work 

114 



United Brethren Rome Missionaries 

is, in some respects, hard and attended with 

peculiar trials, and in our travels 

Difficulties through the country, instead of 

Encountered ° ^ 7 

meeting smiling faces and welcome 
greetings of brethren beloved, it is often a cold 
reception of strangers from whom we have to beg 
the privilege of preaching in their homes. We 
do not present this as a complaint, neither are 
the tears, which interrupt me in penning these 
lines, tears of rebellion." 

The home of this hero of the Cross, as far as 
he had a home, was at Corvallis. He writes from 
there, March 14, 1885 : "We have an interesting 
Bible class, and expect ere long to erect a house 
of worship at this place. Many calls come to us 
from a distance to which we cannot possibly re- 
spond. I know not how to supply these wide- 
spreading, extensive fields. We need help, both 
of men and means. Frequently we labor for days 
in succession single-handed, preaching, exhort- 
ing, singing, and praying with mourners until 
compelled to desist. We sometimes think of our 
ministerial brethren in the East, a few of whom 
are comparatively idle. Could they be with us 
one month, though they might have to ride all 
day and at night wrap themselves in a blanket 
and lie down under the open sky to sleep, yet 
with all these privations and hardships they 
could not be induced to exchange it for that 
deadly inactivity in which some of them are 
dragging out their unhappy existence." 

On August 30, 1855, four ministers met in 
Lynn County, Oregon Territory, and organized 

115 



Our Heroes, or 

the Oregon Conference. Rev. Mr. Connor was 
elected to preside. A membership of 235 was re- 
ported scattered over the territory of seven 
counties. These results were most 
p^anteed* gratifying when the conditions of 
the country were taken into ac- 
count. Much time was spent by the missionaries 
in making explorations. The following year an 
increase of 180 members and many new appoint- 
ments were (reported. During that year they 
passed through the horrors and excitement of an 
Indian war. Only a few years before, the hor- 
rible massacre of Doctor Whitman and his noble 
band of fourteen missionaries occurred. But in 
the face of this gtreat danger, Mr. Connor and 
his heroic helpers kept up their appointments 
and went on with their regular work. 

In 1857 he returned East to attend a session 
of the General Conference. Part of his mission 
was to interest the Church in the work and to 
secure, if possible, more laborers to 
^" assist him. His visit was very 

gratifying to the Church and quite 
satisfactory to himself. His appeals for Oregon, 
based upon the actual needs of the people, as 
well as the future outlook of the country, were 
most effective. 

In July of the same year he started on his re- 
turn voyage from New York, but little account 
of which is given. He writes from Portland, 
August 6 : "At six o'clock this morning we 
landed at Portland. We had rather a tedious 
voya^ge, but in the main a pleasant one. We 

116 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

touched at Kingston, on the Island of Jamaica, 
tarried one night at Aspenwall, reached San 
Francisco on the 31st, and shipped for Oregon. 
Health has been good except seasickness." 

In 1874, Mr. Connor was compelled to retire 
from active work on account of failing health. 
The following year he returned to his native 
State, Indiana, where he spent the closing years 
of his long and useful life. He died at Greens- 
burg, Indiana, on the second day of June, 1898, 
at the age of seventy-eight years. 

The bravery and unselfish devotion of this 
hero of the Cross, with his unstinted missionary 
labors, is a rich legacy. After six months of 
trials, perils, and privations, recorded only by 
the angels, the journey of three thousand miles 
over hot and dreary plains and through danger- 
ous mountain passes was accomplished, and the 
courageous pioneer in due time laid the founda- 
tions of our work in Oregon and the extreme 
northwestern section of the United States. The 
high esteem in which this servant of God was 
held by his brethren in Oregon is evinced in the 
fact that he was elected to preside over every 
session of their conference from the time of its 
organization in 1855 until the visit of the regu- 
lar bishop in 1864. He is described by Bishop 
Edwards as "about medium size, light complex- 
ion, with a countenance expressive of decision, 
firmness, purity, and intelligence. His erect 
form, sober, pious face, and his earnest, devo- 
tional spirit, gave him the appearance of supe- 
rior sanctity and dignity." 

117 



CHAPTER XI. 

First Missionary to Michigan. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Eliza- 
bethtown, Canada, September 23, 1814. His 
father was a Quaker by birthright, and his 
mother was a devout Methodist — a woman of 
rare gifts, of strong character, and of intense 
piety. Throughout his boyhood he 
parentage was surrounded by the most help- 

ful and inspiring of precepts and 
examples. To the tactful and careful guidance 
of a Christian mother, the achievements of his 
life are largely due. Her love, sympathy, and 
prayer were his guiding star. 

At the age of seventeen, young Lee was con- 
verted at a camp-meeting not far from his home, 
and united with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. His brother Alfred, a few years his 
senior, was also converted at the same meeting. 
These boys would go to a schoolhouse on the 
corner of their father's farm, and alone hold 
prayer-meetings. One evening, a gentleman of 
Beginning the community passing by, saw a 

Religious light in the schoolhouse, and, look- 

in to see what was going on, he 
observed the boys engaged in a prayer service. 
At the close of the meeting he heard them 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

agree to meet there again in one week from that 
date. The gentleman was not a Christian, and, 
thinking he would surprise the boys and so in- 
timidate them that they would abandon their 
services, he spread the news among his irre- 
ligious acquaintances and had the house filled at 
the next meeting ; but, to the surprise of all, the 
services went on as usual. These meetings were 
continued and resulted in the salvation of many 
souls and the building of a church in that com- 
munity. 

Soon after his conversion, Mr. Lee was called 
to the ministry, but reluctantly made known his 
impressions, because of his timid and retiring 
disposition and the fact that his educational 
advantages up until that time were very limited. 
His father also sought to discourage him. About 
this time young Lee was called upon by his pas- 
tor to announce a hymn and pray at the close of 

a service, and while doing so, the 
Exhort t0 minister slipped a paper into his 

pocket. On examination he found 
it was a license from the quarterly conference to 
exhort. He then passed through a period of 
struggle and doubt as the result of his disobe- 
dience. This rebellion, he said later in life, 
almost ruined him. 

At the age of twenty-one he left Canada and 
moved to Ohio, settling a few miles north of 
Bucyrus, where he was engaged for a year or 
more in teaching. In the meantime, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Harriet 0. Parme- 
lee. Later they both attended a classical sem- 

119 



Our Heroes, or 

inary at Norwalk, of which Dr. Edward Thomp- 
son, who subsequently became president of Ohio 
Wesleyan University, was the prin- 
schooi cipal. He was a warm friend of 

Mr. Lee, and did much to aid him 
in completing his course of study in that institu- 
tion. Near the close of his course in the sem- 
inary he had the great misfortune to lose his 
little home, with all his earthly goods, by fire. 

In the winter of 1845-46, he was teaching 
school in a neighborhood where but few pro- 
fessed Christianity. It was his custom to open 
the school by reading a scripture lesson and 
offering a prayer. One morning when he arose 
from his knees, he observed a number of the 
older scholars weeping. He went to them to find 
out what was the matter. They answered that 
they wanted him to pray for them; so he 
prayed again and others joined. He tried the 
third time to take up school work, but could not, 
so they had meeting all day and preaching that 
night. A great revival followed, resulting 
in sixty conversions. 

About this time, a United Brethren Discipline 
came to the hands of Mr. Lee, who was at once 
changed impressed with its directness, sim- 

church plicity, and fervency, both in rela- 

tion to its statement of doctrine 
and of church government. After much prayer 
and thought he fully made up his mind to 
change his church relations, which he did a lit- 
tle while later. 

In 1848 he joined the Sandusky Conference 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

and was appointed to "Bean Creek Circuit/' near 
the Michigan State line. With his wife and four 
children he started in a one-horse buggy for his 
field of labor. His oldest daughter, then quite 
young, thus relates her memory of the journey : 
"We had, oh, such a time ! The mud was deep, 
and the last few miles the ground seemed to be 

covered with water. It was wade 
circuit anc * s Pl as b all the time. A few days 

after reaching our destination we 
all took the ague, and a good deal of the time we 
could hardly carry water enough to drink, as we 
had to carry it a quarter of a mile." The circuit 
was large and Mr. Lee had to be away from home 
most of the time. There were times during the 
year when the family was really in destitute cir- 
cumstances. One morning Mr. Lee was on his 
horse to leave for one of his farthest appoint- 
ments, when his wife told him there was nothing 
in the house with which to get another meal. He 
wanted to go and borrow something, but she said, 
"No ; if it is your duty to preach, some way will 
be provided," so he turned away with a heavy 
heart for a two weeks' journey. About eleven 
o'clock the same day, Mrs Lee heard a rap at the 
door. She answered the call and found a woman 
on horseback with a big basket in front of her 
and a sack of flour behind her. In the basket she 
had potatoes, meat, sugar, tea, and other good 
things. 

At another time he was about to start on a 
tour to be absent for several weeks. The family 
had a good breakfast together, but it took all the 

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Our Heroes, or 

provisions that were in the house. When Mr. 
Lee learned this, he was greatly troubled. After 
a few moments' thought, he read a lesson from 
the Bible and then very fervently prayed for 
direction. Presenting the case to the Lord, he 
said : "I cannot leave my family to 
™ a . ri , ed starve. We have no food, no monev. 

Trials 7 * 

If it be thy will that I go on this 
journey to preach thy word, and to try to build 
up thy church, open the way. Provide for the 
family necessities." Just as the prayer was 
ended there was a knock at the door, and a boy 
had come with a load of provisions. The father 
then read from the sixth chapter of Matthew, 
emphasizing the eighth verse, after which the 
family knelt together again and offered a prayer 
of thanksgiving. The father then started on his 
long journey. 

Near the close of the conference year a gentle- 
man by the name of Reynolds, residing in 
Michigan, having heard of Mr. Lee, came to 
visit him with a special request that he come 
into their community and hold a meeting. 
Mr. Lee responded to the call and was much en- 
couraged with the results of the meeting. He 
reported this visit to the conference, and, to his 
surprise, he was appointed by the conference to 
open a mission in this new field. At that time 
First u. b. the Church had no missionary so- 
Missionary ciety, but the members of the con- 
ference pledged fifty dollars, and 
with this amount the work was started. Mr. Lee 
was, therefore, the first United Brethren minis- 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

ter to enter the State of Michigan as a resident. 
Teams were sent to move him, and on the day 
that Zachariah Taylor was elected President of 
the United States, this hero of the Cross, with 
his noble family, reached his Michigan home in 
the midst of a great snowstorm. 

He at once went about the work of organizing 
classes and making missionary excursions. The 
hardships and privations endured during this 
period of his history are set forth by his daughter 
in the following words : "We had a struggle to 
live. We did not have cake or pie in the house 
for over a year, and father would not eat them, 
when away from home, because he knew we could 
not have them at home. Oh, but those were dark 
days ! We were sick a good deal. In August of 
that year a great sorrow fell upon our home in 
the death of our darling baby brother, Adelbert 
Lawrence." 

Mr. Lee was fearless and courageous in the 
face of opposition. On one of his prospecting 
tours he met a gentleman who invited him to 
preach in his community and to make his home a 
stopping-place. This involved quite a distance of 
additional travel. On reaching the community 
he was informed that the gentleman whose invi- 
tation he had accepted had been in the habit of 
inviting ministers to his community and then by 
controversy and ridicule drive them away. Mr. 
Lee stated, "The appointment is made and I ex- 
pect to fill it." After retiring for prayer that 
God would direct him, he found his way to the 
little log schoolhouse where he had been an- 

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Our Heroes, or 

nounced to preach. He found the gentleman 
seated on the platform with slate and pencil in 
hand, and as the sermon went on he began to 

take notes and record his criti- 
An incident cisms. Presently, he laid down his 

slate and began to weep. At the 
close of the sermon he rose and confessed his 
wrongdoing before the people and proposed to 
live a better life, and, appealing to the audience, 
asked if any one would join him in the resolu- 
tion. Several responded and the meeting closed. 
Four weeks later the preacher was there again, 
but learned that this man, wiiose name was 
Sutherland, had thrown off all his good impres- 
sions and would antagonize him. Early in the 
sendees Sutherland entered the room defiantly 
and seated himself by the side of the preacher on 
the platform. At the close of the sermon he arose 
and with sarcasm sought to frighten the preacher 
and destroy his work. When he was through 
with the harangue, Mr. Lee rose and said, "Mr. 
Sutherland, by the grace of God, I mean to whip 
you to-night," not meaning, of course, any per- 
sonal violence. Sutherland sprang to his feet, 
smote his fists together, and said : "That • s it. 
Now we are in for it." A stout Irishman, fearing 
that he might do the preacher personal injury, 
stepped up and seated himself near to protect the 
preacher. Mr. Lee told the people how he 
and Sutherland had first met, reciting his 
previous treatment of other men and thereby pre- 
venting the people of the settlement from enjoy- 
ing the privileges of church and worship. He 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

branded it as the basest hypocrisy and ingrati- 
tude. Then, appealing to the audience, he cried 
out : "Do you intend to endure such 
Feane SS and treatment? Do you intend to let 

Courageous d 

this man control your community 
and abuse and drive away those who would bring 
you the gospel?" The people shouted, "No, no." 
"Then," said the preacher, "rise above him and 
let him know that you will no longer submit to 
such things." The service closed. Sutherland 
went to his home, passed a restless night, rose 
early the following morning and went to his 
sawmill and hung himself, but his engineer 
came in time to release him and save his life. 
He lived two years after that. When dying, he 
was visited by a young minister, who asked the 
privilege of praying for him. He answered, "No, 
it will be of no avail." Then he referred to the 
meeting of two years before, when he grieved the 
Holy Spirit, and was thereafter absolutely aban- 
doned. 

During the second year of Mr. Lee's ministry 
in Michigan he went into Jackson County to 
open up work. The first tour covered a, period 
of seven weeks, during which time he was not 
able to communicate with his family. In the 
meantime his little daughter Emma, whom he 
almost idolized, was taken away. During the 
journey he lost his valuable horse 

Severe a]Q( j j^ nQ meang a j- fl^ t[ me fo 

Trials 

purchase another. The way now 
seemed very dark. He was among strangers, 
without money or means of travel, but in a very 

125 



Our Heroes, or 

definite way God turned the hearts of the people 
toward him as in the case of the great apostle 
after his shipwreck. In a little time he was pro- 
vided with another horse, and the closing 
months of the year were blessed with gracious 
revivals of religion and many additions to the 
Church. 

In a certain community, noted for its wicked- 
ness and opposition to missionary work, Mr. 
Lee manifested great courage and had what 
would seem to be hairbreadth escapes from 
losing his life. He was to preach in a place one 
night, when some one had placed a large block 
of wood just behind the desk, heavily charged 
with powder and with a fuse attached. Mr. Lee 
being called in another direction to attend a 
funeral, secured a local preacher to fill the 
appointment. While the opening prayer was 
being offered, the explosion came. The stick of 
wood went up through the roof and no one was 
hurt. The house was full of people. The meet- 
ing proceeded as if nothing out of the ordinary 
had occurred. A little while later some straw 
and dry wood were piled against the preacher's 
barn and set on fire. The barn was blackened 
for several feet, but the boards did not get 

charred and the fire went out. The 
Esca°r s missionary's statement was, "The 

Lord quenched the fire." Follow- 
ing this a few weeks, a stranger called to stay 
over night, wanting to resume his journey very 
early in the morning. Mrs. Lee went to the well 
for water and noticed a white dust on the inside 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

of the curb, and some of the powder floating on 
the water. She did not use it, but went to a 
spring some distance away to get water for 
breakfast. Mr. Lee went to the class-leader the 
following day, and they two took of the powder, 
which was very abundant, and had it analyzed 
by two different chemists, each of whom pro- 
nounced it arsenic. The class-leader cleaned the 
well and nothing was said about it in the neigh- 
borhood. About ten years later a man in the 
community, after losing his wife, daughter, and 
property, and when under the hand of sore afflic- 
tion, confessed that he had been guilty of these 
several sinful acts. He suffered greatly and 
"could not die," he said, "until he had confessed 
these crimes." 

After sixteen years of heroic service, Mr. Lee's 
health broke down. His labors extended over 
the Ohio border north into Isabella County, up 
into the pine regions. Out of the work he opened 
up in Michigan and to which he gave his best 
years, have been developed all our work in that 
State. In the year of 1865 Mr. Lee returned to 
Ohio, residing for a time in Westerville, then in 
Galion, afterward in Elmwood, Illinois, where 
he died January 11, 1874, and where his body 
sleeps, awaiting the resurrection. 

A very happy incident occurred eleven days 
before his death, which was a fitting prelude to 
his entrance upon his heavenly reward. It was 
the occasion of a family reunion planned by his 
children. The day was indeed "very much like 
heaven/' as the father described it; but late in 

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Our Heroes, or 

the day he felt his strength giving way, and so 
informed the family. That night he had what 

he called "a vision of heaven." It 
vtolon I,ly B0 enraptured him that he rejoiced 

with exceeding joy. The venerable 
servant of God then began to view death as 
God views it, and, instead of shrinking from it 
as many do, he rejoiced in the prospect 
of entering upon the heavenly glory which had 
opened to his vision. Ministers of the town and 
community called in turn to hear him tell the 
story. It was eleven days before his departure. 
The day before his death, seeing his family in 
tears, he said : "Now, I don't want any of you 
to weep; I want all to be calm and quiet. I 
think the change has about come. There is noth- 
ing to fear. That God who has been my support 
in the past is still the same. I feel that all is 
well." 



CHAPTER XII. 

First Missionary to Tennessee. 

The name of John Ruebush deserves a place 
in the splendid list of heroes who distinguished 
themselves in the pioneer missionary work of 
place the denomination. There have 

Among the been men who could more success- 
fully carry on work once started, 
and by patient, long-continued effort enlarge 
and extend that work, but few have there been 
who were more enthusiastic, more untiring, 
more courageous, or more successful in prepar- 
ing the way by opening new and unknown fields 
than he. 

John Ruebush was born in Augusta County, 
Virginia, in 1816. His parents were sturdy, 
stanch, upright people of German descent. The 
environment and discipline of his early life were 
such as to develop rugged qualities of character 
and fit him for a brave and strenuous career. 
His religious life dates from 1834, when he was 
converted and joined the United Brethren 
Church. His call to the ministry immediately 
followed, and within the same year he was given 
quarterly conference license to preach. 

In 1841 he joined the Virginia Conference and 
was assigned to a circuit in Frederick County, 

129 



Our Heroes, or 

Maryland, which he served with marked suc- 
cess for two years. His second pastorate was 
in Washington County, Maryland, where his 
Beginning work as an evangelist was most 

work as an fruitf ul. Some yet live to bless 

his memory who were led to Christ 
during the early years of his ministry. In 1844 
he traveled in West Virginia, where he assisted 
in opening up new work in the remote mountain 
regions of that State. At the conference of 1850, 
which convened near his home in Augusta 
County, Virginia, he was elected presiding elder. 
His administration was characterized by aggres- 
sive missionary work. The boundary lines of 
his mountain district were pressed westward 
until they included territory now occupied by 
the West Virginia Conference. Mr. Ruebush was 
a born leader. It required neither time nor study 
to recognize the man of startling mental energy, 
of aggressive will, independent, fearless, a man 
of large horizon and of bold enterprises ; yet be- 
neath this exuberance of rugged, physical, and 
intellectual activity it was easy to discover an 
intense devotion to his beliefs and a complete 
abandonment of himself to the work and pur- 
pose of his life. 

In 1856, when the Virginia Conference de- 
cided to open a mission in East Tennessee, the 

thought turned instinctively to 
Missionary to Mr R ue bush as the logical leader 

Tennessee . ° 

in the new enterprise. By appoint- 
ment of the conference, on the first Monday in 
April he left his father's house for the mission, 

13 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

taking with him his young wife and little son 
in a buggy. After a journey of two weeks or 
more, he reached the territory to which he had 
been assigned. He began at once to search for 
members of the Church who had moved out from 
Virginia. In his first report he says: "I have 
found thirteen members scattered over a large 
territory. I have preached at a number of 
appointments, introducing the Church. My con- 
gregations are very large and attentive. At this 
time I have my work arranged in the form of a 
three weeks' mission circuit. Last Sabbath I 
preached in the woods to a large congregation; 
in the afternoon at a Methodist church, but the 
people could not all get in the house." 

His work at this time was mainly in Washing- 
ton, Green, and Johnson counties. As he had 
no houses of worship, he must find places wher- 
ever he could — in schoolhouses, in private 
homes, or in the woods. His ability as a 
preacher and his success in the work created 
jealousy that closed the doors of preaching- 
houses of other denominations to him. Under 
those circumstances he was not discouraged, but 
his custom was to gather his congregation in the 
groves, where he loved to preach 

Groves^ * n ^ e g 0S P e ^ H e was advised on one 
occasion to leave the country or to 
suffer personal violence, but he was marked by 
a faith and courage which feared no man. He 
has recorded in a letter how his heart was filled 
with love, his eyes with tears, and his mouth 
with arguments, as he stood, on one of these 

131 



Our Heroes, or 

occasions, looking into the faces of the rabble. 
Like Socrates and Paul, he bore the persecu- 
tions of the multitude, fearing not what man 
might do unto him. There were days when Mr. 
Ruebush would spend as many as eight hours in 
public worship. When doors were bolted against 
him, he would lead his audience into the groves 
and there preach as eloquently as though he 
were occupying a cathedral. 

In December, 1856, he writes: "I never felt 
as well satisfied that I was where God wanted 
me to work as I have since I am on this mission. 
My congregations are large and very attentive. 
I have more calls than three men can fill. We 
feel the need of church-houses of our own. I 
have been preaching in some of the schoolhouses 
belonging to the county, but they will not accom- 
modate the people. When it is not too cold, I 
preach out of doors. Many of these houses have 
neither stoves nor fireplaces in them. I fear we 
will be hindered this winter. May I express the 
hope that some of our Virginia and Maryland 
brethren with whom I have served for fifteen 
years will see if they have not something to 
spare to help us build a church in Tennessee ?" 

At one place, a man who was an avowed 

enemy to Christianity, in order to defeat Mr. 

Ruebush in his purpose to conduct services in 

the community, took up the floor 
opposition f the schoolh0lUSa But it took 

Conquered 

more than this to defeat the coura- 
geous missionary. He stood on the doorstep and 
preached with more than usual power. At the 

132 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

conclusion of the sermon a dozen or more people 
were kneeling in prayer. Among them was the 
wife of the man who was bitterly opposing the 
work. During the same day he sought a confer- 
ence with Mr. Ruebush, when he apologized and, 
in tears, asked not only his forgiveness but his 
prayers, and invited him to> hold services in his 
own home. A great revival followed, and the 
first United Brethren church in the State was 
subsequently built in this community. It was 
during this meeting that the following remark- 
able incident occurred: A few persons cove^ 
nanted to pray for the conversion 

pra^eiT °* °* a f am ily i n the neighborhood 

that carried on a distillery. With- 
in one week from the time the prayer circle was 
formed, every member of the family was con- 
verted, and within another week the old distil- 
lery was torn down. The name of this family 
was Peters. One of the sons, John Peters, 
subsequently entered the ministry and served 
the Church as an honored minister for twenty 
years or more. 

October 25, 1857, after having been in charge 
of the mission for twelve months, he made the 
following report from Washington County, Ten- 
nessee: "I devote all my time to the mission; 
I have eleven appointments. The amount thus 
far paid on salary is $15.82. The ministers of 
other denominations receive small sums, but the 
brethren seem willing to do what they can. We 
held our quarterly conference and appointed a 
board of trustees to secure grounds on which to 

133 



Our Heroes, or 

erect a church and also to take steps to hold 
camp-meetings. Sabbath morning we had a love 
feast. When preaching hour arrived, the house, 
though a large brick structure, could not con- 
tain more than half the people. The doors, win- 
dows, and aisles were filled. Some old-fashioned 
shouting occurred during the services." 

Much opposition was created against Mr. Rue- 
bush, and his w x ork by an editorial that ap- 
peared in the "Knoxville Whig" in the summer 
of 1858, in which the writer sought to prejudice 
the people against this noble man of God by 
opposition asserting that he hailed from Ohio, 

^ rom M1 and was circulating literature det- 

wws rimental to the interests of the 

citizens of the State. In answer to these misrep- 
resentations of the Knoxville paper, John Law- 
rence, editor of the Religious Telescope, wrote 
a vigorous article in which he said : "The editor 
of the Whig is alarmed at the success of our 
faithful missionary in bringing souls to Christ, 
and is anxious to hedge up his way or drive him 
from the field by raising the cry of 'Wolf ! w^olf V 
Rev. John Ruebush does not hail from Dayton, 
Ohio, as his assailant says. He was never, to 
our knowledge, in Dayton. He was born, reared, 
and licensed to preach in Virginia, and in Vir- 
ginia he has preached for fifteen years. United 
Brethren missionaries never raise insurrections, 
and never circulate incendiary documents. We 
defy the Whig, its correspondent, and the rest 
of mankind to produce a single instance of the 
kind." 

134 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

How much injury this persecution did Mr, 
Euebush by hedging up his work, we do not 
know. He fearlessly continued his work, clearly 
and boldly declaring the principles of the Bible 
and the doctrines of the Church, ignoring the 
vituperation of the Knoxville Whig and the 
jeers and taunts of others. In a letter written 
about this time he says : "I have preached about 
four times a week and part of the time attended 
two weekly prayer-meetings. I have fourteen 
appointments, four classes, and have received 
into the Church sixty-six members. We are now 
engaged in building the first United Brethren 
church-house in the State of Tennessee." 

In the year 1859, Bishop Glossbrenner visited 
him and conducted the dedicatory services of 
the church. From his account of the visit, pub- 
lished in the Telescope, we give the following 
extracts : "The Brethren have built a neat and 
comfortable chapel; it is out of debt. Brother 
Euebush has something in the treasury for 
another church. When I arrived, the services 
had begun. Some of the brethren 
church ^ad broufrjit their families to the 

Dedicated *? 

meeting in their wagons, and were 
tenting on the ground about the church. During 
the services of the day twenty-five persons pro- 
fessed conversion. Brother Euebush has had 
hard work as a missionary, but he has not 
labored in vain. The singing, praying, and 
preaching he has done would almost kill two 
ordinary men. He should have help imme- 
diately. At least two more missionaries are 

135 



Our Heroes, or 

needed. A more kind and hospitable people I 
never met." 

In the year I860, on the eve of the breaking 
out of the Civil War, Mr. Buebush found the 
difficulties in his work increasing. He found 
himself facing the turbulent times which so 
greatly interfered with all church work in that 
section. For a time, however, he preached with 
his usual freedom, but later he was compelled to 
confine his labors to the rural community in 
which he resided, and finally felt it necessary to 
work abandon the field and seek work in 

Temporarily another section. In speaking of 

Abandoned ji , tt .. *, *j 

those troublous times he said: 
"These were months in which there were many 
trying experiences, narrow escapes, privations, 
fatigues, exposures, and financial losses." But 
even amid these difficulties he said: "As soon 
as the war is over there will be a ripe harvest- 
field for the United Brethren Church in East 
Tennessee." These words were prophetic. A 
membership of five thousand in Tennessee, Geor- 
gia, and Louisiana is now reported as the out- 
growth of his work. 

At the close of the war Mr. Buebush resumed 
his labors in Tennessee. The questions that for 
years had disturbed the peace of the State were 
now forever settled. He found not 
work on }y a s tate of religious destitu- 

tion, but the people were really 
suffering from want of bread and clothing. D. 
A. Beauchainp, who had been sent from Indiana 
to aid in the work, gives the following descrip- 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

tion in a letter to the Telescope under date of 
December 5, 1866: "From what my eyes have 
seen, and from what I have learned since 
being here, I am led to believe that had we, 
in many parts of Indiana, that to contend with 
which they have had here, many of us would 
have left our homes and lands and gone into the 
army to save our lives, or else we would have 
settled in dens and caves of the earth, as did 
hundreds here." 

The Tennessee Conference was organized by 
Bishop Glossbrenner, November 22, 1866. Three 
ministers were present — J. Ruebush, A. G. 
Evans, and D. A. Beauchamp. At this confer- 
ence Enos Keezel and R. J. Bishop received 
license to preach; 209 members were reported, 
18 Telescopes taken, five Sunday 
orgln^zer schools organized, with 31 teachers 

and 206 scholars. Mr. Ruebush 
was elected presiding elder. The following year 
a gain of 106 was reported in the membership, 
making a total of 315. 

Having laid what seemed to him a good foun- 
dation for a permanent work, Mr. Ruebush had 
a desire to return to his old conference, where 
he might spend the closing days of his life with 
the friends and amid the scenes of his childhood 
and young manhood. In October, 1869, he took 
a transfer to Virginia Conference, where he 
served most efficiently either as pastor or as pre- 
siding elder during the remainder of his life. 

His devoted wife died at Keedysville, Mary- 
land, in March, 1878. She had been a faithful 

137 



Our Heroes, or 

helper and sharer with her husband in the hard- 
ships and privations of his missionary life and 
work. From this great sorrow, "Uncle John," 
as he was familiarly know T n, never fully recov- 
ered. Three years later he, too, 
oeatk entered upon his heavenly reward. 

In the fall of 1881 he baptized 
some persons by immersion, and, riding home, a 
distance of three miles, without change of cloth- 
ing, he took that fatal disease, pneumonia, and 
died at Leitersburg, Maryland, December 16, 
1881. He was buried by the side of his wife 
in the beautiful resting-place of the dead at 
Keedysville, Maryland. 

Mr. Buebush was a strong preacher and a 
most successful evangelist, being frequently 
spoken of as "the Moody of Virginia Confer- 
ence." The spell of his voice was wonderful, 
and not less wonderful its range of power. He 
was a master in illustrating great truths, which, 
with his earnest application, forced conviction 
to the minds and hearts of his hearers. Many 
yet live who were won to Christ by his ministry, 
while many more have passed over the river. 



138 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 



LESSON HI. 



Chapter IX. 

1. When was Alexander Biddle born? 

2. What is said of his ancestry? 

3. What were his early school advantages? What of his later 
education ? 

• 4. W 7 hen and where did his religious life begin? 

5. By whom was he baptized, and what was his experience? 

6. When did he begin the ministry? In what conference? 

7. Describe his first circuit and his ministerial outfit. 

8. Give some of his experiences on Lisbon Circuit. 

9. How was the mob defeated at the camp-meeting in Stark 
County ? 

10. What trials came to him in 1841 and 1850? 

11. Name some of his triumphs in evangelistic work. 

12. What had been the growth of the Muskingum Conference 
during - his fifteen years of service? 

13. When did he unite with the Sandusky Conference? 

14. What is your estimate of Alexander Biddle and his service 
to the Church? 

Chapter X. 

1. What is said of the pioneer missionaries in the opening 
paragraph of this chapter? 

2. W T hat followed the breaking out of the gold excitement in 
California in 1849? 

3. What led to the opening up of United Brethren missionary 
work in Oregon? 

4. Give circumstances leading up to Mr. Connor's appoint- 
ment to that field. 

5. W T hen was he appointed, and with what recommendation? 

6. When and from what place was the journey begun? 

7. W T hat were some of the early discouragements he met ? 

8. Who was his associate in the enterprise, and what was the 
size of the colony? 

9. What can you say of the magnitude of the undertaking and 
the perils of the way? 

10. How much time was spent on the journey? 

11. Describe Oregon then and now. 

12. State briefly the difficulties of the work in the field. 

13. What impression do you get of Mr. Connor from his letters ? 

14. W 7 hen and where was the Oregon Conference organized? 

139 



Our Heroes, or 



Chaptee XI. 

1. Who was the first United Brethren missionary in Michigan? 

2. When and where was Stephen Lee born? 

3. When and under what circumstances did he begin religious 
work ? 

4. Under what circumstances was he given license to exhort? 

5. What were his educational advantages? 

6. How and why was he led to change his church relations? 

7. When did he join the Sandusky Conference, and to what 
circuit was he appointed? 

8. Describe his journey with his family to the new territory, 
and the varied trials of the year. 

9. What does the daughter say of their trials on their first 
Michigan charge? 

10. Relate his encounter with and triumph over Sutherland. 

11. What occurred during his tour in Jackson County, Michi- 
gan ? 

12. Relate some of his persecutions and narrow escapes. 

13. What splendid vision opened to him eleven days before his 
death ? 

14. What was his dying testimony? 

Chapter XII. 

1. Who was the first United Brethren missionary in Ten- 
nessee ? 

2. Where and when was John Ruebush born? 

3. When did he begin his work as an itinerant? 

4. What can be said of his power and activity as a leader? 

5. When did he go to Tennessee as a missionary? 

6. What can you say of his courage in the face of difficulties? 

7. Where did he especially find pleasure in preaching the 
gospel ? 

8. What incidents are given of overcoming opposition? 

9. W T hat remarkable answer to prayer is recorded? 

10. When and where was the first United Brethren church in 
Tennessee dedicated? 

11. Why did he temporarily abandon the field? 

12. When did he resume his work in Tennessee? 

13. When was the Tennessee Conference organized? 

14. What can you say of this hero of the Cross in the closing 
years of his life? 



140 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Founder of the Home, Frontier, and Foreign 
Missionary Society. 

The name of John Collins Bright is revered by 
lovers of our Zion because of the heroic service 
he rendered in the pioneer work of laying the 
foundations of some of our most cherished insti- 
tutions. His ancestors were Eng- 
Ancestry lish, having emigrated to America 

about the middle of the eighteenth 
century. Fortunate is the child who can listen 
to stories of ancestors whose lives are proudly 
traced back through England's noblest families. 
Such was the privilege of the descendants of this 
distinguished family. The name is connected 
with some of England's most noted statesmen 
and churchmen. William E. Gladstone regarded 
John Bright, "The Quaker Statesman/' as the 
greatest orator, of which he had knowledge, that 
ever addressed the British Parliament. 

Major Bright, Sr., father of the subject of this 
sketch, was married in 1799 to Miss Deborah 
Moore. A little while later, perhaps during the 
following year, they moved to Fairfield County, 
Ohio, and made for themselves a home in the 
wilderness. Their sole wealth on arriving in 
Ohio was a few cooking utensils, some blankets, 
a gun, and a pony. 

141 



Our Heroes, or 

John Collins Bright was born near Canal 
Winchester, Ohio, October 13, 1818. Of his 
childhood days we have nothing of extraordinary 
Birth and note. He was always, according to 

Early his mother's testimony, an obe- 

dient and industrious boy. His 
boyhood days were full of hardships incident to 
the times in which he lived, as the country was 
new and the land was to be cleared and made 
ready for cultivation. Many an adventure, hunt, 
and ramble were taken in early years and ten- 
derly recalled in later life by Mr. Bright. He 
enjoyed hunting and never was without a, gun 
during his lifetime. He was sensitive and refined 
and was never known to use a vulgar expression 
or any unbecoming language whatever. 

In 1830 the family moved to Hancock County, 
Ohio. On their way, while passing through 
Columbus, they had great difficulty in crossing 
a swamp on Broad Street, about three squares 
from the present State Capitol. Soon after 
reaching his new home he attended a camp- 
meeting conducted by the cele- 
conversion brated evangelist, Michael Long, 
where he was converted. He at 
once expressed a desire to enter the ministry 
and was granted quarterly conference license in 
the United Brethren Church. From that time 
the blessings of God in a very definite way 
rested upon his life and upon his work. In 1841 
he united with the Sandusky Conference and 
was appointed to a circuit. As an itinerant he 
was most successful, both as evangelist and 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

organizer. He steadily enlarged the borders of 
his charge by organizing new classes and press- 
ing his way into new communities. With in- 
creased intensity and zeal he continued his mis- 
sionary work both as circuit preacher and pre- 
siding elder until the year 1851, when the Lord 
opened to him a door into a new department of 
work, for which he had been in special training. 
The command of Jehovah came to the General 
Conference in 1841, saying, "Enlarge the place 
of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the cur- 
tains of thine habitations; spare not, lengthen 
thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes." Spiritual 
leaders and prophets were now coming to see the 
need of planning for a larger fu- 
t Ne ,T ture of usefulness. With some the 

Epoch 

conviction was profound that the 
Church should take an advance step in provid- 
ing for the education of her youth. This convic- 
tion, however, was not widespread. It is fair 
to say that some of these fathers, seeing the 
churches in which culture was most common, 
under the sway of a lifeless formalism, con- 
cluded, in a not very logical but very natural 
way, that there was some connection between 
higher education and a spiritual death so preva- 
lent in their day ; and so they not only failed to 
see the necessity of the educational work, but 
some of them actually feared it as hostile to the 
spiritual life and power of the Church. Mr. 
Bright was a stanch friend of Otterbein Uni- 
versity, the pioneer college of the Church, and 
its founding was to him a prophecy of the larger 

143 



Oar Heroes, or 

success of the future. He saw then what most 
men see now — that the Christian college is 
fundamental and vital in the work of the 
Church. He was instrumental in turning many 
young people toward this institution, as well as 
turning many of its noblest 3 r oung men toward 
the gospel ministry. 

In 1852 the need of a more vigorous and 
aggressive evangelism became apparent, and the 
devising of plans for the inauguration of such a 
organized movement was engaging the atten- 

Missionary tion of many of the leaders of the 
Church. In this movement Mr. 
Bright was the recognized general. His great 
soul was fired with an intensity that is inde- 
scribable, for the immediate building up of mis- 
sions in the new States and Territories, Canada, 
and far-off Africa. He had already proven him- 
self a successful pioneer preacher, presiding 
elder, home missionary, and a friend of educa- 
tion and of whatever else would bless mankind. 
At a session of the Sandusky Conference, held 
in Johnstown, Ohio, in 1852, a committee was 
appointed to consider the question of world-wide 
missions, of which Mr. Bright was made chair- 
man. From the report of that committee, which 
was adopted by the conference, appears the fol- 
lowing resolution: "The time has fully come 
when the United Brethren Church should unite 
her whole strength in a missionary society, 
which shall include not only the home, but the 
frontier and foreign fields." Under the inspira- 
tion of the report, about seven hundred dollars 

144 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

were secured on the conference floor for starting 

the work. The action of this conference, under 

Mr. Bright's heroic leadership, led 

Founder of ° x 7 

Missionary the way for the organization, the 
society following May, by the General 

Conference, of a Home, Frontier, and Foreign 
Missionary Society. He is justly regarded as 
the founder of this society, and was very prop- 
erly and very wisely chosen as its first corre- 
sponding secretary. The two most important 
acts of this General Conference, which convened 
at Miltonville, Butler County, Ohio, was the 
organization of this society and the authorizing 
of the removal of the Publishing House from 
Circleville, Ohio, to Dayton. 

Mr. Bright brought into his new work as sec- 
retary the splendid leadership and organizing 
ability that had marked his administration of 
earlier responsibilities, and the results were 
immediate and inspirational. The following 
paragraph from an article written in the first 
issue of the Missionary Telescope, a little 
monthly sheet started by the Board of Missions, 
and of which, by virtue of his office, he became 
editor, will illustrate his zeal : "We have no 

time to waste in mere compliments, 
fe'cretarT' and therefore beg leave at once to 

make known the object of our mis- 
sion. We are, as we humbly trust, a servant of 
the Lord Jesus, called into his vineyard not to 
while away the time, to speculate, to dream, to 
take our ease, but to toork. We come to you, 
therefore, in haste, for the Lord's business de- 

145 



Our Heroes, or 

mands dispatch. We wish to furnish the latest 
and most useful missionary intelligence to stim- 
ulate missionary enterprise; to stir up men, and 
especially young men and women, to consecrate 
themselves to missionary work; to open the 
fountains of benevolence and guide their 
streams into the proper channels; to encourage 
faith in the early triumphs of Christ's kingdom, 
and, in short, to join heartily with all the labor- 
ers now in the field inj the prosecution by all 
practicable methods of the great enterprise of 
the age and of all ages and of eternal ages — the 
conquest of the ivhole world for the Redeemer. 
This is our mission, and if God has touched your 
heart and kindled in it a spark of missionary 
fire, give us your hand, give us your prayers, and 
what aid you can." 

It is easy to see that a man like that, inspired 
with that sort of a spirit, and intensely in ear- 
nest, would arouse the Church on the subject of 
missions as had never been done before. Says 
one who knew him well : "His impassioned 
address moved people to give as they had never 
done before. Hundreds multiplied into thou- 
sands under his oratory, which was always full 
of Bible argument, very earnest and full of sym- 
pathy for the lost. Under the power of his elo- 
quence the people felt that wherever there was 
need of missions in home, frontier, and foreign 
fields, they must go without delay. There were 
times when he seemed in great agony because 
more was not done. John Knox, when he 
prayed, 'Give me Scotland or I die,' could not 

146 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

have felt more intensely the weight of souls than 
did Mr. Bright." 

Such work could not do otherwise than bring 
success. Missions were planted in Tennessee, 
Nebraska, Canada, Minnesota, Michigan, Mis- 
souri, Kansas, Oregon, and Africa. 
Results The results of the first four years 

of the Board's existence, during 
which time Mr. Bright was secretary, exceeded, 
both in the amount of money secured and the 
work accomplished in new fields, the expecta- 
tions of the most sanguine. Some interesting 
incidents occurred in connection with his solici- 
tations of money. At a meeting held in the 
boundaries of his own conference, he was at one 
time securing subscriptions for life members 
and life directors, the former costing ten dollars 
and the latter fifty dollars. He passed through 
the audience, receiving the names of those who 
were willing to contribute. In the congregation 
before him sat his own little boy, about six years 
of age, ■ and who had received that day from a 
lady with whom they were stopping, six cents 
for learning to spell his name correctly. The 
father knew he had the money, and in order to 
implant in his little mind a love for his fellow- 
men, called from the pulpit and asked him to 
give that money on a life directorship. The boy 
gave it a little reluctantly, but has many times 
since then expressed himself as glad he made 
the contribution. It implanted a missionary 
spirit in his young heart, and has helped him 
to encourage the same spirit in others. 

147 



Our Heroes, or 

At the close of the four years' service, Mr. 
Bright's health was much impaired. His diffi- 
cult, exhausting labors led to a nervous break- 
down. As the weeks passed, his vitality steadily 
lessened, until he was driven to 
Nervous gee ^ health in a sanitarium in 

Breakdown 

Cleveland. After resting for some 
time his health was partially restored, but his 
physicians forbade his taking up the missionary 
work again, and, indeed, forbade him preaching 
until he had more fully recovered his health. 
After a severe struggle with himself, he con- 
cluded to enter commercial life, fearing that he 
could not henceforth do much more in the min- 
istry. This did not prove to be a success finan- 
cially. He was now somewhat broken in spirit 
as well as in health, for he had hoped to regain 
his strength, save his means, and enter again 
upon the work he so much loved. 

He subsequently regained his health to such 
an extent that he served most successfully as 
pastor and presiding elder. In the fall of 1865 
he was assigned to Galion Station, where he 
found twenty-five members. The Sabbath school 
was in the very throes of death. He felt that he 
had been sent to this place to save a struggling 
society. The salary for the year was less than 
four hundred dollars. Mr. Bright went to work 

with his usual zeal to promote a 
Revival revival. Daily his family would 

see him go to his closet and pray 
for hours that God would bless him in his 
efforts to build up the work. The answer came 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

in clue time. In December, 1865, he began a 
series of meetings and continued them until 
February, 1866. Above two hundred souls were 
saved, one hundred and sixty of whom united 
with the Church. He was heard more than once 
to exclaim, "I have fought the good fight; I have 
kept the faith," and now that the victory was 
won, he was ready to go, if need be. The church 
was now a strong one, spiritually and finan- 
cially, and his work apparently was done. 

About this time the students of Otterbein Uni- 
versity were permitted to use a cabinet organ in 
morning prayers; later, in the Sunday school 
and on commencement occasions. Some of the 
older brethren in the cooperating conferences 
thought this an improper innovation. Some 
instrumental members of Mr. Bright's own con- 
church 11 ference were among them. He, 

services however, favored both instrumen- 

tal and vocal music in church w T orship. He 
was a pioneer in the movement which finally 
changed the attitude of the whole Church in this 
matter. After his great revival at Galion he 
raised money, purchased an organ, and arranged 
for a volunteer choir. As a result, he said his 
church services were more appreciated. The 
attendance was increased and the congregation 
in every way encouraged. With one exception, 
this was the first church to introduce organs or 
to favor instrumental music in the regular serv- 
ices of the Church. 

Mr. Bright was a prophet. Some thought him 
to be a dreamer, but his dreams were simply 

149 



Our Heroes, or 

visions of the things which, in the course of 
years, became realities. He had a constructive 
spirit and his achievements will loom larger as 

the years go by. Few men of the 
a prophet Church have performed a more 

lasting and greater work than he. 
With the spirit of the true hero, he cheerfully 
undertook and completed the hardest tasks. He 
has left an endearing memorial in the ever- 
widening influence of the institutions he helped 
to found. Because of his generosity, his hero- 
ism, and his abundant and fruitful missionary 
labors, his name will always be revered. 

In March, 1866, he suffered .another nervous 
breakdown, which proved to be the final battle. 
As the early spring and summer months passed, 
his physical decline was rapid, and on August 6, 
1866, he passed triumphantly to the reward of 
the righteous. Just a little while before his de- 
parture he said, "If this be dying, it is sweet to 
die," then, singing one stanza of his favorite 
song, "We '11 wait till Jesus comes and we '11 be 
gathered home," he said good-by to earth and 
received his heavenly welcome. His body rests 
in Green Lawn Cemetery, Columbus, Ohio, 
awaiting the resurrection of the just. 



150 



CHAPTER XIV. 

A Pioneer in Missionary and Educational 
Work. 

To all who are working and praying for the 
growth of our Zion in all her departments of 
work, and the consequent extension of her 
borders in the home land, the life, labors, and 
triumphs of Jacob Bruner Eesler are an 
inspiration and a hope. He was 
Birthplace born in Fayette County, Pennsyl- 

vania, September 6, 1821. The 
place was a rural community. Here in the 
wilderness, as in the case of Elijah and John the 
Baptist, God obtained an audience with the 
young man at a very early age. 

When twenty years of age, he received license 
to preach. During the same year occurred the 
historic General Conference of 1841, which 
marked a new era in the life and growth of the 
denomination. The crystalization of hitherto 
unorganized forces was now begun. A complete 
constitution was adopted and methods of defi- 
nite work outlined. During the twenty years 
following, institutions of learning were estab- 
lished, a Home, Frontier, and Foreign Mission- 
ary Society was organized, and the membership 
of the Church was multiplied by three. 

This period was also characterized by wide- 
spread revivals of religion. Mr. Resler was a 

151 



Our Heroes, or 

hero of the truest type in this work. To do the 
work of an evangelist in the Alleghany Moun- 
tains sixty-five years ago was not an easy task. 
It meant toil and travel and exposure and pov- 
erty of which in this our day we have little con- 
ception. There was no royal road to success, no 
easy way to push to the front the Church of his 

choice. Its limited membership 
fflMton^T" was widely scattered. These early 

ministers were taken from the 
forest, the plow, or the workshop. In the main, 
they were men who preached on the Sabbath 
while they supported their families from the 
labors of the week. They found their adherents 
among men and women in private life, who were 
humble like themselves, and earned their daily 
bread by the sweat of their brow. 

With the conviction that the gospel was freely 
offered to all men, whatever their social stand- 
ing in life, Mr. Eesler went up and down the 
valleys and over the mountains of his native 
State, carrying the word of life to all. He was 
a nobleman born of nature and grace; as a 
preacher he w r as a speaker of deep spirituality, 
matured wisdom, solid worth, and very practical 
helpfulness, never falling below a certain high 
standard of his own, always graceful in style 
and delivery, suggesting the manner of the best 

of the Anglican divines. While 
!£££££ never a Boanerges in passionate 

denunciation, he did not shun to 
declare the whole counsel of God, and it can 
never be said by any one who sat under his 

152 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

preaching that they failed to hear that they 
ought to be saved, or missed the information 
that they could be saved. He knew men, he 
sympathized with them; to his character there 
was the suggestion of poise, not passion, and of 
regulated enthusiasm and of sanctified common 
sense. He was rarely, if ever, thrown off his 
guard ; he was always at his ease in dealing with 
men of affairs and with practical questions. He 
knew the world, yet was not of it, uniting with 
a shrewd business sagacity the clerical dignity 
and demeanor of the old type. 

During the early days of his ministry Mr. 
Eesler was considered one of the most successful 
evangelists of his conference. At that time 
church-houses were very scarce, and much of the 
preaching was done in private houses and 
schoolhouses. During the summer what were 
called "bush-meetings" and "camp-meetings" 
were held. These were not, as too many of them 

are to-day, simply places of recrea- 
MeTting ^ on > but they ^ Tere well-planned 

campaigns, resulting in "pitched 
battles for the retaking of human souls that had 
been led captive by the devil at his will." The 
presiding elders, with the best preachers from 
the surrounding circuits, were there to direct 
the forces in the impending battle. Such earnest 
prayers, such pithy, poignant sermons, such fer- 
vent exhortations to at once surrender and 
acknowledge the rightful authority of the King 
of kings, would not soon be forgotten. On occa- 
sions like this Mr. Eesler was without a peer. 

153 



Our Heroes, or 

He was by nature fitted to be a leader. His 
manner was mild, his address pleasing and per- 
suasive; a man of great tact, a good student of 
human nature; his spirit Christ-like, and his 
presence an inspiration. He was elected pre- 
siding elder in Allegheny Conference when but 
twenty-six years of age. He at once showed mas- 
terful tact and ability. The following story is 
told by an early member of the 
Lefd™. conference: "In the year 1847, Mr. 

Eesler held an old-fashioned camp- 
meeting on father's farm, in Clearfield County, 
Pennsylvania. His visit there and his efficient 
work will long be remembered. There was a 
great revival, and his ability as a preacher and 
his superior tact in managing the wild moun- 
taineers, securing their confidence and preserv- 
ing good order, very largely contributed to the 
great results of the meeting." 

Mr. Eesler at one time and another occupied 
every honored position in the Church except that 
of bishop, and there was not a sphere in which 
he was placed which he did not honor. Some 
one has said, "As many of the great states- 
men of the past were in thought too far in 
advance of their times to be elected President of 
the United States, so Mr. Eesler was too great a 
prophet and thought too far in advance of the 
times to be a popular and successful candidate 
for the bishopric in those days." He was a man 
of broad and liberal views, never destructive 
but always distinctively constructive in his 
work. There was a marked heroic element in 

154 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

his character ; he wore no mask. He held that it 
was the glory of our Protestant faith that the 
responsibility rested with the individual. He 
was one of the first and most vigorous leaders in 
changing the attitude of the denomination 
toward secret societies. While he never was a 
member of any order himself, he argued that a 
policy of opposition was not only contrary to the 
spirit of the gospel of Christ, but greatly hin- 
dered the growth of the Church. 

Mr. Eesler was a leading spirit among 
the pioneers of the educational work of the 
Church. The early fathers opposed the estab- 
lishment of Church schools. This in part grew 
out of the fact that the churches from which our 
pioneer in members originally came were cold 
Educational and formal, and at the same time 
had an educated minister. The 
conclusion was natural, but very illogical, that 
this spiritual deadness was the result of a cul- 
tured ministry, which tended to a cold intellec- 
tualism. The way to shun that danger was to 
avoid intellectual training and depend entirely 
upon the direct help of the Holy Spirit. And 
yet it is fair to say that these men claimed not to 
be opposed to education in itself, but education 
under the control of the Church, claiming that 
it was. the business of the state and not of the 
church to see to the education of the people. 

Mr. Kesler's wide-awake mind early saw the 
need of a higher training for those who were to 
lead the United Brethren hosts. His earnest- 
ness in the cause of Christian education was 

155 



Our Heroes, or 

influenced, no doubt, by an incident in his early 
life. He had taken about two terms at an acad- 
emy in his native country, and would have gone 
another, but some of the clergy about him, on 
w T hose judgment he greatly relied, urged him to 
at once enter the ministry. They urged, in sub- 
stance, that he was now a good preacher, and 
that souls whom he might save were going down 
to ruin. He yielded to their entreaties, and 
made the sad mistake of his life. This deter- 
mined him to prevent any man, whom he could 
influence, from making a similar mistake. 

At a session of his conference in 1847 a com- 
mittee was appointed to locate a school within 
the conference territory. Three years later a 
building was erected and Mt. Pleasant College 
was opened for students. With the sentiment 

prevailing in the Church, the pro- 
conege motion of the enterprise required 

heroic service. In 1852 Mr. Kesler 
was called to the agency of the school, to which 
he gave the best years of his life. Paragraphs 
from his addresses and articles, while engaged 
in this work, are still quoted by our educators of 
to-day. The following is a sample : "The object 
of our people should not be to hoard up earthly 
treasures for their children; to see how much 
increased in goods they can become, as though 
this fading world were their abiding home. Men 
endowed with such lofty faculties, capable of 
such high cultivation and usefulness, to be 
chained down to a few rusty dollars, never was 
the design of infinite wisdom and benevolence." 

156 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

As an evidence of the manner in which this serv- 
ant of God put his life into his work, his oldest 
daughter relates that among her earliest recol- 
lections she would frequently w T ake up in the 
night and hear her mother call to her father, 
who was still walking the floor in anxiety for 
the school, when he should have been resting. 

As college agent Mr. Kesler was most tactful 
and successful. His visit to a home was always 
a means of grace, leaving an abiding impression. 
The following incident is a fair illustration : 
"At one time, when soliciting in Clearfield 
County, he called on one of the local preachers 
in the conference, who, with his two boys, was in 
the barn threshing some grain with a flail. In 
his mild, earnest, insinuating way he impressed 
upon the father, as he stood leaning on his flail, 
the importance of building up schools to train 
our own children. 'If we do not do so, we shall 
lose them, for thev will so to other schools 
and drift away from us.' He named twenty-five 
dollars as the amount he would like this father, 
in his humble mountain home, to contribute to 
the infant school he was representing. Those 

listening boys were drinking in the 
vi s u em ° rable arguments addressed to the father, 

and the matter of education seemed 
more important to them than it ever did before. 
Finally the father said, 'We will go to the house 
and see mother about it.' The result was, the 
money asked for was pledged." In the inspira- 
tion of that visit, those boys began at once to 
plan for an education, and finally entered this 

157 



Our Heroes, or 

very college. They subsequently arose from one 
position to another in the educational work of 
the Church, from which field one was called to 
the bishopric and the other to the editorial chair 
of the Religious Telescope. But for that visit of 
Mr. Resler to their mountain home, and those 
arguments to which they listened that day, how 
very different the history of those two distin- 
guished servants of God might read ! 

In the year 1857, Mt. Pleasant College was 
transferred to Otterbein University, at Wester- 
ville, Ohio. A few years later Mr. Resler, with 
his family, also moved to that place. This 
mother of our educational institutions never had 
a warmer friend or more loyal supporter than 
Mr. Resler. He was also identified with the early 
history of Lebanon Valley College and Union 
interest in Biblical Seminary. Mr. Resler had 
Young a deep interest in the young life of 

the Church. His visit in a home 
always implied two things: First, to inquire 
after the spiritual interests of the members of 
the family, and then to endeavor to interest the 
young people of the home in a college education. 
This work was not done in a perfunctory way, 
but it was prompted by a deep interest in the 
Church and in the possibilities of the young 
people. Many yet living call him blessed for 
opening to them a larger vision of life and its 
possibilities. It is said that no minister of his 
times turned more young men toward the gospel 
ministry than did he. Gathering a company of 
the boys of the college together, he would open 

158 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

up to them the work of the holy office. Many 
of the students of our colleges, especially Otter- 
bein University, have put away among their 
most sacred memories an earnest talk which at 
some time Mr. Eesler kindly gave them, urging 
them to be responsive to the divine call to this 
greatest of all work. 

He died in Westerville, Ohio, April 27, 1891, 
having reached the age of seventy years. The 
funeral sermon was delivered by Bishop J. 
Weaver. His pastor at that time said: "Dur- 
ing the last year of his life his thought dwelt 
much on heaven and immortality, and with an 
ever-increasing meaning he was able to sing the 
song of his life, 'Savior, more than life to me.' 
This song, in the minds of many, has no exist- 
ence apart from Father Eesler. It was his song 
of peace, his song of battle. He sang it when his 

children were married, and he sang 
a Tribute it when they died. He was a great 

inspiration in the services, for he 
had really learned the art of successful worship. 
The pastor always knew there was at least one 
heart that was keeping up with him, and not 
only taking, but giving that which even 
amounted to a real inspiration. We shall always 
see him as he sat in his accustomed place, lean- 
ing hard on his staff with both hands, his sym- 
pathetic eyes steadily fastened on the pastor, 
his face yielding a glow of heavenly sunshine, 
and he had acquired the rare faculty of knowing 
just when and how to say 'Amen.' It was not 
merely professional, it was heaven-sent." 

159 



CHAPTER XV. 

A Hero of Lower Wabash Conference. 

Conspicuous among those who have wrought 
nobly and heroically in pioneer mission work in 
the Central West is the name of Walton Clay- 
borne Smith. His early days were spent in a 
rural German home not far from Winchester, 

Frederick County, Virginia, where 
Birthplace he was born September 23, 1822. 

Nature provided, as his early 
teachers, a beautiful section of the Shenandoah 
Valley with its sublime setting of mountains, 
the impress of which were subsequently seen in 
the elevation of his thoughts and the breadth of 
his sympathies. But the most positive force that 
shaped his distinguished career was the influ- 
ence of a devout Christian home. He was fre- 
quently heard to remark, "It is an unspeakable 
blessing to have been born of pious parents. 
This privilege was mine." 

In the year 1834 the family immigrated to 
Vermillion County, Indiana. The journey was 
made in a covered wagon. Their progress over 
rocky ridges, across the Alleghanies, or winding 
among trees and stumps, along newly-cut roads, 
through the dense forests, was slow and tire- 
some, requiring several weeks and even months, 

160 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

but they finally reached their destination in the 
wilds of Indiana. The country was then new, 
schools were necessarily poor, and young Smith 
grew to manhood with very limited educational 
advantages so far as books were concerned. His 
earliest religious impressions were occasioned 
by the words of his mother, whose admonitions, 
accompanied and reenforced by the Spirit of 
God, led him to the Cross. On the last day of 
December, 1840, at what was then known as the 
"Cross Roads Schoolhouse," near Perryville, In- 
diana, he made a full surrender to God and 
conversion united with the Church. Soon after 
can to his conversion he was impressed 

that he ought to enter the ministry, 
but, being of a timid disposition and shrinking 
under the responsibilities of the ministry, he 
kept the matter to himself. Finally the impres- 
sions grew so strong that he made known his 
feelings to his pastor, and the following Septem- 
ber w r as given license to preach. 

Mr. Smith joined the Wabash Conference in 
1848, at which time he was assigned to his first 
charge, known as Concord Circuit, which cov- 
ered portions of Tippecanoe, Boone, and Mont- 
gomery counties, Indiana. He describes most 
touchingly his feelings on the morning when he 
turned his back upon the home of his youth, 
with all the pleasant associations clustering 
about it: "As I pressed my way on horseback 
to my circuit, I went with an aching heart and 
weeping eyes, all the time feeling the responsi- 
bility of the work and my inability for a calling 

161 



Our Heroes, or 

of such magnitude." A circumstance occurred 
at his second quarterly meeting which greatly 
encouraged him. There was a vacancy on the 
district, and to properly supply it 
Evangelistic ^ presiding elder proposed to 

Beginnings ^ ° xr r 

change Mr. Smith to another 
charge, but could not legally do so without the 
consent of the quarterly conference. Having ex- 
plained the matter and asked their consent to 
move their preacher, they said with one voice, 
"We cannot consent to have you take our boy 
preacher from us." This encouraged him and 
he pushed forward with increased zeal and 
energy. Great revivals followed and money was 
secured to complete two church-buildings. 

At the next session of the annual conference 
a resolution was passed requiring each pastor to 
preach a. missionary sermon and take an offering 
to aid two home missionaries in the conference. 
This was a new departure; nothing of the kind 
had ever been undertaken before. Mr. Smith 
had never heard a missionary sermon, had never 
witnessed the taking of a missionary offering, 
but he thought it was his duty to do what the 
conference had assigned him. He looked up 
some scripture texts that made reference to the 
His First preaching of the gospel, preached 

Missionary the best he could, and passed 
through the audience in person, 
asking for money. By this means he secured 
nine dollars, nearly one-fourth of the amount 
collected that year in the entire conference. The 
Church was favored with great prosperity. One 

162 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

hundred souls were won to Christ and the pastor 
reported seventy-five dollars salary for the year's 
work. 

The following year he was assigned to West- 
field Circuit, Illinois. The year's work was 
characterized by gracious revivals and a large 
ingathering of souls. Some of the meetings 
were held in dwelling-houses. In one com- 
munity the people became anxious for a meet- 
ing, but there was neither church-house nor 
schoolhouse in the community. A brother said, 
"We will make a church-house out of our dwell- 
ing." They vacated the largest room they had, 
put seats in it, announced the meeting, and peo- 
ple came. A revival followed, resulting in forty 
conversions and accessions to the Church, and a 
church-house was subsequently built in the com- 
munity. During the year Mr. Smith traveled 
more than four thousand miles on horseback, 
preached more than three hundred sermons, and 
received one hundred and twenty-five persons 
into the Church. His salary for the year was 
one hundred dollars. 

On August 8, Mr. Smith was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Sarah A. Lockett, of Vermilion 
County, Indiana. She was deeply pious, pos- 
sessing fine social qualities, with an ability to 
scatter sunshine upon those around 
Marriage her. She entered at all times into 

the work of her husband, and 
proved to be to him a tower of strength. Her 
home was the center of attraction for the 
young ladies of Westfield College, and many a 

163 



Our Heroes^ or 

poor girl, oppressed with homesickness, has 
been encircled in her kindly arms and nursed 
back to health and activity. In all the confer- 
ences cooperating with that institution, there 
has never been a woman more loved and appre- 
ciated than "Auntie Smith." In all human prob- 
ability the husband would not have developed 
into so efficient a worker had he not been so well 
helped at home. 

In 1850 he again served Westfield charge. 
Within ten days after his appointment he was 
in the midst of a revival which resulted in the 
organization of a class of thirty members. Ke- 
vival succeeded revival as weeks went by. The 
year proved to be one of unusual success, result- 
ing in the organization of a number of new so- 
cieties and the gathering in of 210 precious 
souls. 

As an example of self -sacrificing heroism, the 
following incident is given : "In 1853 he said to 
his elder, 'If you wish to send me to that mis- 
sion, of which the brethren seem so fearful, I 
will go. Were it a good charge I 

Request 11 W0Uld not RSk f ° r &' " He ^ eilt 

to this, the hardest field in the con- 
ference, at his own expense, paid his own house- 
rent, and went to work with all the earnestness 
of his being. Within a few weeks the death 
angel visited his little home and took away his 
first-born child, a darling boy of ten months. 
At the first quarterly conference not one dollar 
was reported for the support of the preacher. 
It looked like a hard task, but he determined, 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

with God's help, to hold to it a little longer. 
The Lord blessed his efforts, revival followed re- 
vival. New appointments were taken up and 
new classes formed. The work was so enlarged 
that by the close of the year it required about 
three hundred miles of travel to complete one 
round on the charge. Over one hundred addi- 
tions were made to the Church, and he was paid 
ninety dollars for his w r ork. Within the terri- 
tory embraced in that mission are now eight 
charges, with twenty church-houses. 

In 1854 Mr. Smith was elected presiding elder, 
which position he filled with distinction for 
seven successive years. His diplomacy and 
leadership in this office have perhaps never been 
excelled in the denomination. He was a man of 
vision, and his spirit of faith and courage was 
contagious. No difficulty seemed too great for 
him to surmount in order to meet his engage- 
ments. On his way to a quarterly conference 
with two young ministers, the en- 

T n rt!n endent S ine broke down > and > having no 
hope of being repaired soon, the 
elder said, "We will set up an independent 
train/' and with grips in hand they pulled out 
for a twenty-five-mile run. Though the day was 
warm, they made good progress and reached the 
desired station in due time. One of these young 
ministers was I. W. Joyce, late bishop of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. He was given 
license to exhort at that quarterly conference. 
This was a mission charge, a weak church, and a 
small congregation. The collections on Sabbath 

165 



Our Heroes, or 

were $4.50. One-half went to the preacher, and 
the remainder, $2.25, to the elder. There was no 
complaining, each one thanking God that he was 
counted worthy to be a messenger of salvation. 
His district in Illinois in 1857 required a jour- 
ney of more than one thousand miles to complete 
one round. The revival influence began with the 
work of the year, and about 1,100 souls were 
converted and brought into the Church. He 
made it a point to< begin his quarterly meetings 
Friday evening, and wheniever possible he would 
protract the meeting, barely giving himself time 
to reach his next appointment. One of the most 
hazardous acts of his life occurred during this 
year. It was in the month of May. Excessive 
rains had fallen and the streams were overflow- 
ing their banks. Starting for his appointment, 
he came to the little Wabash Elver. 
Hairbreadth rp^ e ma j n stream was bridged, but 

Escapes ° ' 

from the bridge it was two miles 
out to the bluffs, all of which was under water. 
He tried to hire a guide, but failed. The only 
alternative was to ford the stream for two miles, 
or fail to meet his engagement. Having been 
over the road once before, he remembered that 
there were two so-called puncheon bridges on 
the road without any railing to mark their loca- 
tion. To miss these bridges was to go down into 
the water some ten or fifteen feet. Asking for 
divine guidance, he started in and passed over 
the bridges safely, and thereby avoided swim- 
ming the stream. He reached his appointment 
in time and organized a class of twenty-four 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

members, who have since erected a good church 
and parsonage. 

In 1861 an institution of learning was started 
at Westfleld, Illinois, called Westfleld Seminary 
— now Westfleld College. The following year 
the conference was asked to take the school 
under its supervision as a Church school, which 
it did, not, however, without considerable oppo- 
sition. It was thought necessary to have an 
Father of agent for the school, and before the 

westfiew time for the election of elders, the 

conference selected Mr. Smith as 
agent for the young institution of learning. He 
entered upon his work with no small amount of 
misgiving, but, trusting in God for help, he went 
forward from year to year until he had devoted 
twenty-one of the best years of his life to this 
department of Church work. He might very 
truly be called the father of Westfleld College. 
Some one says : "Uncle Smith has waded more 
mud and breasted more storms, hunting for 
money and sinners, than any other man in the 
denomination." 

In 1841 a conference missionary society was 
organized and Mr. Smith elected as its treas- 
urer, which position he filled until his death. He 
lived the prayer life. In all things he trusted in 
God for direction and safety, as the following 
incident will illustrate: While missionary 
treasurer, and before funds were distributed by 
check as they are to-day, he carried large sums 
of money to the conference each year. On one 
occasion, when going to conference, he reached 

167 



Our Heroes, or* 

the railway station too late for the train. It was 
late in the evening and he had an important en- 
gagement for eight o'clock the following morn- 
ing. After presenting his case to the ticket- 
agent, he was informed that there would be no 
passenger trains before late the following after- 
noon, but that a freight train would be due in a 
short time, and if he desired, he might board a 
box car and thus reach the conference in time to 
meet his engagement. After a moment's medita- 
tion and prayer, he decided to act upon the sug- 
gestion. When the train arrived, he boarded a 
car, with his money-bag in one 
Thrilling hand and some articles of clothing 

Incident & 

in the other. After placing these 
articles in one end of the car, he observed two 
rough-looking men at the other end of the car, 
engaged in playing cards under a dim candle- 
light. He also observed a revolver lying in front 
of them. What should he do? As his custom 
was, he consulted God for a moment, then, 
advancing toward the men, he said : "Gentlemen, 
I am a preacher. If you don't object, I should 
like to read a passage of scripture, offer a 
prayer, and then preach a little sermon." They 
immediately gathered up their cards, and, under 
the subduing presence of the man of God, they 
told him to proceed. Kneeling down before the 
little candle, he opened his pocket-Bible, read a 
few verses, offered a tender prayer for the two 
strangers, then preached a fifteen-minute ser- 
mon. The men were visibly affected. Mr. Smith 
then bade them good-night and returned to the 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

other end of the car with the assurance that he 
was in perfect safety, and, laying his head upon 
the little valise which contained the money, he 
soon fell asleep. When he awoke the next morn- 
ing, near the place where the conference was 
convened, his two traveling companions were 
gone. 

Mr. Smith's chief characteristics were utter 
and absolute consecration of himself to his work, 
and intense perseverance and honesty of purpose 
in that work. He had in him the heroic spirit, 
the spirit that scorned ease if it must be pur- 
chased by failure to do duty. He was not con- 
consecration sidered a great preacher, but he 
to His was regarded as a great man with 

a great personal influence. His 
eloquence was the eloquence of character rather 
than speech. He occupied an influential and 
honored place in the high councils of the Church 
for more than a half century. He represented 
his conference in the General Conferences of 
1857, 1861, 1865, 1869, 1873, 1877, 1893, and 
1897. 

The memory that is left to us is of a man 
whose character was as noble as his faith was 
unfailing and his labors tireless. His very pres- 
ence begat respect, but when his sweet and 
generous spirit was known and his supreme de- 
votion to his divine Lord was appreciated, 
admiration and love came as naturally as does 
the fruitage to the vine that bears it; there was 
happily blended in him the spirit of the Boa- 
nerges with that of the "disciple beloved" — the 

169 



Our Heroes, or 

tenderness of one supplementing the forceful- 
ness of the other. 

"Uncle Smith" belonged to the order of 
Calebs, who preferred to remain in the active 
service until transferred by the great General of 
the Lord's armies from the church militant to 
the church triumphant. The frosts of many 
winters had whitened his head to a snowy white- 
ness, yet he labored and preached almost to the 
last hour of his eventful life. He was unable to 
attend the session of Lower Wabash Conference 
which convened two months before 
Reiic* ^is death, this being the only ses- 

sion in sixty years that he was 
unable to answer at roll-call. But he sent to the 
conference the familiar book and valise that he 
had been carrying for forty-four years. When 
they were exhibited by the bishop, the entire 
audience were melted to tears. 

On the 17th of October, 1905, from his home 
in Westfield, 111., he entered upon his heavenly 
reward. How rich must have been the reward 
of more than sixty years' toil such as he gave in 
the Master's service. A little while before his 
departure he remarked: "My work is done; I 
am homesick for heaven. I want to go. Most of 
my associates are gone. I have asked God to 
send the chariot for me. I think he will, soon." 

Among the colaboirers of this hero of the Cross 
in laying the foundation of our Zion in western 
Indiana and southern Illinois were J. Griffith, 
W. M. Givens, S. Mills, J. W. Nye, and C. H. 
Jones. 

170 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Leader and Organizer of Work in West Virginia, 

It has been wisely ordered by the providence 
that has shaped their destiny that great spir- 
itual captains should come from humble homes 
and be reared amid hardship and difficulty, that 
they might at last step forth strong and true 
men, capable of giving battle to the forces of 
evil. From such a home and early experiences 
came forth Zebedee Warner. 

He was born in Pendleton County, Virginia 
(now West Virginia), February 28^ 1833. It 
was one of the most rugged and secluded sec- 
tions of that vast mountain State. When but a 
youth he had the misfortune to lose his father, 
leaving a widowed mother to care for five little 
children and in turn to be cared for by them in 
later years. At the age of seventeen he professed 
conversion and joined the United Brethren 
Church. His educational advantages up until 
that time had been very limited. Two or three 
terms in a subscription school near his mountain 
conversion home so sharpened his appetite for 
Educational knowledge that, when eighteen 
years of age, he found his way 
to the Northwestern Academy at Clarksburg, 
West Virginia, where he knocked for admission, 

171 



Our Heroes, or 

a stranger and without money. Here he re- 
mained one year, taking care of the school-build- 
ing as the only means of paying his tuition, and 
working Saturdays to pay in part his board bill. 
Home trained, self -disciplined, he was a student 
all his days. That sentiment which was chiseled 
on the monument of Greene, the English his- 
torian, may be as appropriately written above 
the grave of Zebedee Warner : "He died learn- 
ing." 

Mr. Warner first chose the medical profession 
as his life work. Not being satisfied, he later 
turned his attention to the study of law. Still 
he was restless, and so remained until led by the 
Holy Spirit to enter the highest of all callings — 
that of the Christian ministry. On the 22d of 
October, 1853, he was granted a quarterly con- 
ference license to preach, and the following Feb- 
ruary, as a junior preacher, entered upon his 
first pastoral charge, Hagerstown Circuit, in 
Virginia Conference. In 1856, after traveling a 
year on a charge in the valley of Virginia, he 
was appointed to "West Columbia" Circuit, in 
the extreme western portion of the State. His 
work in that section with J. Bachtel, J. W. 
Perry, and a few others, resulted in the organ- 
ization of a new conference. The conference 

Parkersburgr ^ e ^ ^ S initial Session at Center- 

Conference ville, Taylor County, West Vir- 

ginia, in March, 1858, and was 
named "Parkersburg Conference." The terri- 
tory it embraced was the most rugged and per- 
haps the most difficult to travel of any in the 

172 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Church. Some members of the Virginia Confer- 
ence predicted that in a few years it would be 
abandoned and the members would be glad to 
return to the mother conference. 

The first charge assigned Mr. Warner by the 
new conference was known as "Taylor Circuit," 
embracing portions of Taylor, Harrison, Barber, 
Upshur, and Randolph Counties. During the 
two years he served this charge the family resi- 
dence was a little log cabin on the outskirts of 
the town of Philippi, in Barber County. The 
distances to be traveled over mountain passes 
and through dense forests, with the bridgeless 
streams to be crossed, often detained him for 
many days from his family. Recounting the ex- 
periences of the two years' missionary work on 
that charge, he said with tear-filled eyes : "One 
of the severest trials that came to us was the 
tragic death of a darling little daughter. On my 
arrival one autumn evening, after 
Triai Vere an unusually long absence, my 

three little children came running 
to meet me, each having a desire to receive the 
first kiss and embrace, when little daughter was 
kicked by my horse and instantly killed. . . . 
The salary received for the year was one hun- 
dred dollars, out of which we paid our own 
house rent. There were times when we were 
facing actual want, but Mrs. Warner never 
scraped the bottom of the flour barrel that the 
Lord didn't hear the appeal and send us aid." 

In 1862 Doctor Warner was elected presiding 
elder. In this position he served with distin- 

173 



Our Heroes, or 

guished ability for seven successive years. His 
quarterly meetings were great religious feasts, 
and his camp-meetings occasions of moral and 
spiritual regeneration which often changed the 

character of multitudes. As a 
Eidel dinS worker he had but few equals. His 

powers of endurance were very 
wonderful. He neglected no duty, however hard. 
The dauntless courage with which he met and 
endured privations and hardships must be 
attributed to his intense loyalty to "Christ and 
him crucified," and his all-absorbing love for 
souls and desire for God's glory. He allowed no 
obstacle to dampen his enthusiasm, no danger or 
privation to stand in his way, and no disappoint- 
ment, no discouragement could shake his faith. 
From the day Parkersburg Conference was 
organized he became its acknowledged leader. 
His breadth of mind, largeness of heart, indus- 
try, and consecration to his Master and his work, 
readily won for him this place. Like a mighty 
general he cheered on his struggling brethren in 

the face of untold difficulties, by 
Ge^^ tT his unconquerable optimism, which 

was the outcome not only of his 
naturally hopeful mind, but of an unwavering 
faith in God. He embodied all the essential ele- 
ments of a great leader. 

Doctor Warner gave himself ardently to the 
discovery and development of young men. He 
had the rare gift of calming opposition by recog- 
nizing and winning, "catching and training" 
future leaders when they were young. He held 

174 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

the rudder of his conference with a hand always 
steady, a vision always clear, a heart always 
brave, and a faith always strong. Sometime in 
the sixties hp organized a "Ministerial Associa- 
tion/' which resulted in the establishment of a 
pioneer "Theological Institute" especially 

of Young' ^ or ^ e training of the young men 

Ministers of the conference who had not the 

advantage of the schools. Year after year he 
called them together and served as instructor 
without any compensation. This noble and 
heroic service won for him the love and devotion 
of all. It was perhaps the first work of the kind 
instituted in the denomination. Doctor Warner 
was pastor in Parkersburg, West Virginia, from 
1869 to 1880, which was probably the longest 
pastorate ever served in the denomination up 
until that time. 

He will long be remembered as one of the 
greatest pulpit orators of his State and of his 
Church. He possessed a rugged mind which 
forged majestic thoughts and delivered them 

with tremendous eloquence. His 
preacher public addresses were always of 

high order — large-minded, sugges- 
tive, and sometimes even majestic in their scope. 
But the pulpit was his throne, and greater even 
than his lectures were some of his sermons, 
which, while doctrinal in structure, were evan- 
gelical in spirit. "His oratory and magnetism, 
coupled with his message, which he always felt 
to be from God, not infrequently like a hurri- 
cane swept his audience before him, and many, 

175 



Our Heroes, or 

many times his voice was drowned by the shouts 
of saints, mingled with the cry of sinners for 
niercy." 

As a temperance advocate he excelled. The 
saloon-keepers of the city of Parkersburg, where 
he lived so long, feared no man as they feared 
him. His blade, ever keen and incisive, never 
failed to cut its way to the very vitals of the 
traffic. In 1882 he canvassed the 

Idvo^aTe 11 ^ entire state of West Virginia, or- 
ganizing the temperance forces of 
every county in the interest of constitutional 
prohibition, and to his splendid work may 
largely be attributed the election of a legislature 
which submitted to the State a prohibitory 
amendment. His campaign addresses were mas- 
terpieces of eloquence and convincing reasoning. 
Doctor Warner was prominent in the highest 
councils of the Church for a long period of time. 
He was first elected to the General Conference 
in 1861, and to each succeeding session until 
1885. From 1858 he was a trustee of Otterbein 
University, and was by that institution given 
the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1878. He 
was one of the pioneers of the movement which 
finally changed the attitude of the Church 
toward secret societies. In debate he always 
prominent showed a tender, sympathetic side 

in cimrch to his nature. While tenacious in 

his opinions, he was not intolerant. 
He had an open respect for intellect, wherever 
he found it, and a noble sympathy for men of 
different views in whose competency he believed. 

176 




Z. Warner 



J. W. Fulkerson 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

If his utterances against measures which he 
opposed were sometimes severe, the records will 
show that in the treatment of his opponents he 
always manifested a Christian spirit. In this 
he was an exception. 

In 1885 Doctor Warner was elected Secretary 
of the Missionary Society. In representing its 
interests upon the platform he has never been 
excelled. But he was most at home in the work 
of preaching and teaching, and in 1887 he re- 
signed the secretaryship to take the pastorate of 
our church in Gibbon, Nebraska, in connection 
with which he lectured twice each week, once on 
theology and once on parliamentary law, before 
the faculty and students of Gibbon Collegiate 
Institute. 

Doctor Warner was a man of heroic spirit. He 
sought not ease or earthly reward. "Without re- 
serve he gave himself to the doing of the will of 
God. There is not the slightest indication that 
from the moment he began his itinerant life he 
ever sought his own ease, or that he ever had any 
other thought or purpose or motive in life but 
the doing of the will of God." With unfaltering 
purpose, with restless zeal, with heroic faith 
that feared no danger and surmounted every 
obstacle, he gave himself to the work of laying 
the foundation of the Church in 
Heroc spirit the mountains of West Virginia. 
Truly he counted not his life dear 
unto him that he might win souls to Christ. His 
heroic work and its results have enriched and 
stimulated the zeal of thousands. From the small 

177 



Our Heroes, or 

beginning of 1858 a great conference of fifteen 
thousand members has resulted, and from it men 
have gone out into every section of the Church 
to preach the gospel. No inducements from a 
material point of view could affect his loyalty to 
the Church or his devotion to his life purposes. 

It was on the evening of January 24, 1888, in 
Gibbon, Nebraska, that he entered upon his re- 
ward in heaven. Within the suburbs of the 
Golden City he dictated a little letter to his 
wife, fearing she could not reach him from Day- 
ton, Ohio, before his departure. About this time 
he said to the editor of the Telescope by tele- 
gram: "My soul is wonderfully filled with the 
peace of God." His body sleeps in a beautiful 
cemetery at Parkersburg, West Virginia,, having 
been removed to that place several years after 
his death. 

Among those who shared with Doctor Warner 
in the struggles, privations, and triumphs of 
planting the Church in the mountains of West 
Virginia, and who deserve a place in the same 
list of heroes are, J. Bachtel, G. W. Statton, B. 
Stickley, J. W. Percy, J. W. Miles, S. J. Gra- 
ham, Dr. J. L. Hensley, and E. Harper. 



178 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 



LESSON IV. 

Chaptek XIII. 

1. What can you say of the ancestry of John Collins Bright? 

2. Give date of his birth, and brief review of his early life. 

3. When was he converted? Under whose ministry? 

4. What new epoch does 1841 mark in the history of the 
United Brethren Church? 

5. When was the Missionary Society of the Church founded, 
and by whom? 

6. Who was the first Missionary Secretary of the Church? 

7. What can you say of the character of Mr. Bright's work? 

8. What of the results of his work? 

9. What occurred at the close of his first term as Secretary? 

10. In what other advance movements of the Church was he 
a pioneer? 

11. To what pastorate was he appointed in 1865, and what 
were the results? 

12. What is your estimate of the service Mr. Bright rendered 
the Church as a constructive builder? 



Chapter XIV. 

1. When and where was Jacob Bruner Resler born? 

2. In what important period of the Church did he enter the 
ministry? 

3. Give brief statement of his early itinerant work in the 
mountains of Pennsylvania. 

4. What were some of his leading characteristics? 

5. What can you say of him as an evangelist? 

6. What can you say of him as a leader of men? 

7. How are the "camp-meetings" of those times characterized? 

8. W T hat place did Mr. Resler occupy in the pioneer educa- 
tional work of the Church? 

9. Give incidents connected with his work as a college agent. 

10. What was the result of his visits as agent in the homes of 
the people? Give illustration. 

11. What is said of his interest in young people? 

12. What tribute was paid him by his pastor at his funeral 

service ? 

179 



Our Heroes, or 



Chapter XV. 

1. When and where was Walton Clayborne Smith born? 

2. What is said of the natural and religious surroundings of 
his childhood? 

3. From whom did he receive his earliest religious impres- 
sions ? 

4. When was he converted, and what were some of his strug- 
gles before entering the ministry? 

5. When did he join the Wabash Conference, and what was 
the first circuit assigned him? 

6. Give brief statement of his home leaving, and incident of 
encouragement at his second quarterly meeting. 

7. What were some of his trials and triumphs the following 
year, on Westfield Circuit, Illinois? 

8. What example of self-sacrificing heroism does he give at 
the conference of 1853? 

9. What incident occurred in 1854, in which the late Bishop 
Joyce was a participant? 

10. Give brief statement of his heroic work as presiding elder 
in 1857. 

11. What relation did he sustain to Westfield College? 

12. What incident occurred on his way to conference as treas- 
urer illustrating his trust in God? 

13. What were his leading characteristics? 

14. When and where did he die? Who were some of his 
colaborers ? 

Chapter XVI. 

1. What can be said of the birthplace and early training of 
great spiritual captains? 

2. When and where was Zebedee Warner born? 

3. What were his educational advantages? 

4. What is said of him as a student? 

5. When did Doctor Warner enter the ministry? 

6. When was Parkersburg Conference organized? 

7. What relation does Doctor Warner sustain to its organi- 
zation and growth? 

8. Describe his first circuit under the appointment of the 
conference. 

9. What severe trial came to his home while serving this 
charge ? 

10. What does he say of their struggles with poverty? 

11. What is said of his influence as a leader? 

12. What is said of his ability as a preacher? 

13. Name some of his chief characteristics? 

14. Where and when did he die? 



180 



CHAPTER XVII. 
Oar Heroes in Iowa. 

With the expanding life of the Church, and 
the westward flow of emigration, our people 
crossed the "Father of Waters" into Iowa early 
in the thirties, in search of homes for themselves 
and children. The territory was only sparsely 
settled. The people of the East at that time 
had but little conception of its vast possibilities 
when once redeemed from savage sway and made 
to feel the life-inspiring touch of a Christian 
civilization. Indeed, some of the most astute 
statesmen of the East could see nothing in the 
far West to invite home seekers, or that could 
contribute to the wealth and greatness of the 
nation. 

A Connecticut representative in Congress 
failed to see the utility of "the Louisiana Pur- 
chase," which gave to the United States the 

greater part of the Mississippi Val- 
fa°w iowT 8 le y> and declared that at no distant 

day it would cause the "subversion 
of the Union." A New Hampshire Senator saw 
in the West a great menace to the eastern States, 
and expressed the fear that the incorporation of 
such a vast territory would, in the end, compel 
the eastern States to -establish an "independent 

181 



Our Heroes, or 

empire." A Virginia politician prophesied that 
this Eden of the New World would prove a cem- 
etery for the bodies of our citizens. Still an- 
other high official declared that the acquired 
territory would be the greatest curse that could 
befall us. But how little did they know about 
the wonderful resources of the vast domain lying 
between the Mississippi and the Eockies. They 
were false seers, as the developments of the last 
half century have abundantly demonstrated. 

In all this immense stretch of country no sec- 
tion is richer than Iowa, and the people of Illi- 
nois, and other nearby States, were quick to 
see that its almost endless prairies, 
iowa™ fringed here and there by winding 

streams and little woodlands, with 
a soil too fertile and enduring to ever be ex- 
hausted, were intended by the All-wise Creator 
to be more than a roaming place for uncivilized 
tribes and buffalo herds. 

JOHN BURNS 

Joseph B. Clark, D.D., in his admirable book 
entitled, "Leavening the Nation," gives Rev. 
Burton G. Cartwright, a Methodist minister, 
the honor of establishing the first class in 
Iowa, in 1835, near the present site of Burling- 
ton. Following this, a Baptist church was 
organized at Danville, and another Methodist 
class at Dubuque. 

About this period John Burns, a local 
preacher in the United Brethren Church, began 
to make and fill appointments in Lee County, 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

where he prepared the way for those who were 
afterwards sent to that field, and where he like- 
our First wise prepared the soil for the seed- 

preacher in sowing that was to follow. The 
name of this unpretentious servant 
of the Church is frequently mentioned by others 
in later years, but we have no record of his 
achievements; suffice it to say that he was one 
of God's faithful heralds, and was the first to 
lift the banners of his Church west of the Mis- 
sissippi. But heaven has a record of all he did 
and said, and has long since rewarded him for 
his toil in the lonely field to which an unerring 
Providence directed him. 

Christian Troup, of Wabash Conference, fol- 
lowed in 1837, and became prominent as a pas- 
tor and presiding elder. 

A. A. SELLERS 

Possibly no one among the early missionaries 
in Iowa endured more hardships and made 
greater sacrifices to build up the Church than 
did A. A. Sellers. His life and labors w T ere 
so thoroughly woven into the early history of 
the conference, which was organized shortly 
after his appearance upon the field, that no 
record of it would be complete if his name were 
omitted. 

He w r as born in Rockingham County, Vir- 
ginia, February 20, 1808. At the age of twenty- 
two he was converted at a camp-meeting in 
Harrison County, Indiana, and joined the United 
Brethren Church. This last step was, no doubt. 



Our Heroes, or 

an easy one, as he had been reared in the midst 
of the Church, and was familiar with its spirit, 
and simple, yet beautiful forms of worship. At 
this camp-meeting he preached his first sermon. 
Six years later he moved to Illinois and became 
a member of the Wabash Conference, where he 
preached as opportunity was afforded until 
April, 1839, when he crossed over to Lee County, 
Iowa. Here his active ministerial life began, 
and the work of organizing churches was under- 
taken in earnest. 

With men who had been reared in the Church, 

and knew the blessedness of its fellowship, it 

was a very benediction, when in a strange land, 

to find United Brethren, and to 

B J e i s ^ nes l. tarrv with them in their homes. 

of Fellowship " 

The throb of fellowship is always 
felt more sensibly by the settlers of a new coun- 
try, when all are poor and dependent upon one 
another, than by those who have become rich, 
and, in a sense, independent. Wealth almost 
invariably produces selfishness and a disregard 
for the welfare of others. 

In 1842 Mr. Sellers heard of a United Breth- 
ren preacher in a distant section and deter- 
mined to find him, if possible. Accordingly, in 
company with Mr. John Burns, he started one 
morning across the plains, and continued his 
journey all day without a morsel of food. Not 
even knowing the name of the man they sought, 
no little difficulty was experienced in locating 
him; but fortunately some one was found who 
gave information which led them to his quarters. 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

The new preacher turned out to be Eev. F. B. S. 
Byrd, lately removed from Boss County, Ohio. 
A great revival had heralded his name far and 
wide, and by this means news of his whereabouts 
had come to Sellers. 

In point of time the first class was organ- 
ized by John Everhart, in Henry County, at 
the home of Father Edgington, in 1842, but it 
seems that Mr. Byrd was the first to have a class 
incorporated under the laws of the Territory. 
Both organizations, however, were 
First ciass effected in the month of April. 

Organized x 

The court records show that the 
last-named class, when incorporated, contained 
seven names: F. B. S. Byrd, John Kephart, 
Bobert Henthorn, Joel Shively, John Wyatt, 
Solomon Bales, and Irwin Standard. This is 
certified to by John P. Grantham, Becorder of 
Henry County. 

Mr. Sellers tells us that one time, when absent 
from home in Cedar County, a furious snow- 
storm prevailed for two or three days. Fearing 
that his family were suffering, he decided to go to 
them, no matter what the cost. His route lay 
across two trackless prairies. In some places 
his horse pushed the drifted snow 

a Great snow w i t k k is breast. Under such COn- 
Storm 

ditions the faithful animal could 
make but little headway and had to be rested 
frequently — sometimes a whole day. Finally, 
after an awful struggle, lasting sixteen days, he 
reached home. His good wife met him with 
tears of joy. Her sufferings had been almost 

185 



Our Heroes, or 

as great as his. She had been compelled to put 
on his clothing and wade in the snow to her arm- 
pits to secure fuel and to keep the little live 
stock they owned from perishing. That a preach- 
er's wife ever had to suffer thus for the sake of 
the Church may be an interesting revelation to 
many, but it is so; and more, the greatest pri- 
vation and heartaches endured by them are not 
recorded yet on any militant page, but alone in 
God's book. To him only the secret of their 
sufferings is known. 

When a presiding elder, in 1850, Mr. Sellers 
had to travel nine hundred miles in making a 
single round on his district. During the long 
trips and periods of absence from home he more 
than once jeopardized life itself in 
in a swollen order to keep his appointments. 
On one occasion he forced his horse 
into a swollen stream, not knowing its depth, or 
the danger in trying to ford it. The animal be- 
came frightened and began to rear and plunge. 
At last the saddle-girth broke and the rider, with 
all he carried, went off into the water. He fin- 
ally reached the shore, he scarcely knew how, 
but never recovered his saddle. 

Once in a while he was compelled to lay off a 
year or two for the purpose of paying his debts, 
and of getting something ahead for 
Meaner ^is family; but during these pe- 

riods he ceased not to preach. His 
Sabbaths were spent in filling appointments in 
his own and adjoining neighborhoods. Up to 1857 
he had received, all told, for all the years of his 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

service, only $523.37. Brave soul ! He knew 
well the converging points of service and suffer- 
ing, for he had lived there during his entire 
ministerial life, and rejoiced in the privilege of 
sharing with his Lord, at so great a cost, the 
work of redeeming men. 

In his last days he wrote: "And now my sun 
is fast declining. The shadows are lengthening, 
and I am far down the western slope; but my 
faith is strong, my hope is firm, and my prospects 
are bright ; and when my work on earth is done, 
I hope to be able to say, as did the sainted Mark- 
wood, The Lord has no more for me to do.' 9i 

JOHN EVERHART 

This man of God was sent to Iowa by the 
Wabash Conference in August, 1841. Though a 
missionary, he had no appropriation behind him 
to make sure his living, hence was left to grapple 
as best he could with the financial situation in- 
volved in his self surrender to the will and work 
of his Church. Like others of his colaborers 
he found it necessary to turn aside occasionally 
to secular business to prevent the wolf coming 
too near his door; but, as soon as the necessary 
provisions were made for his family, he was out 
and in the work again. 

His travels extended over nearly all the south- 
ern part of the State, and great revivals were 
promoted through his almost ceaseless labors. 
During these itineraries he crossed over into 
northern Missouri, and preached at various 
places as his time and strength permitted. In 

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Our Heroes, or 

1851 he organized the first United Brethren class 
in the State in Clark County. Later he was 
sent to do missionary work in northern Iowa, 
but found the people in a state of fear and 
unrest. In 1857 the settlements near Spirit 
Lake had been raided by a hostile 
Indian Indian tribe and forty of the citi- 

Outbreak J 

zens mercilessly slain. This cre- 
ated a condition which made permanent church 
work next to impossible, and it was quite a 
while before feelings of security were fully re- 
stored. But who was better prepared than Mr. 
Everhart to grapple with such a situation? His 
faith and courage and indomitable will always 
made him master of the situation, no matter 
what his environments might be. What a pity 
that so little of his history has been preserved! 
He was known to travel in storm and snow un- 
til his feet and hands and face were frozen. At 
other times he would swim turbulent streams at 
the risk of life ; or, if a ferry-boat was accessible, 
he would pay out all his money to get over. 
Once he pawned his Bible to the ferryman in 
order to reach his appointments on time, hoping 
that he might be able on his return to redeem 
the dear old Book which was as sacred to him 

as life itself. Frequently, when too 
Hardships f ar awa y f r0 Hi human habitation 

Endured ^ 

to find shelter, he would camp out 
where darkness overtook him on the plains, with 
naught but the skies for a covering, and the 
howling of wolves to break the monotony of 
silence. Is it any wonder that his end was 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

peaceful and triumphant? Having done his 
duty as a gospel herald, and in every other rela- 
tion of life, he could say, when the parting hour 
came, "Tell my brethren that I die without a 
single cloud." 

He was a pulpiteer of marvelous power, and, 
like a dashing general, ofttimes captured the 
multitude at a single effort. Mr. Sellers, who was 
privileged to hear him at a quar- 
a Great terly meeting, says : "I shall never 

forget the first time I heard him 
preach. It seemed as though the very dews of 
heaven were falling upon every heart in the 
congregation. Brother Christian Troup sprang 
to his feet, clasped the preacher in his arms, and 
shouted, 'Glory.' " 

The elements of fellowship meant so much 
to the fathers that they frequently made long 
journeys for the purpose of meeting each other, 
and of spending a short season together in pray- 
er and praise. At one of the first quarterly 
meetings held in Henry County, all the minis- 
ters and other officials known in the State were 
present — seven preachers, three exhorters, two 
class-leaders, and seven incorpor- 
a Noted ateA trustees. The great gather- 

ing was held at the residence of 
Joel Shively, which was known far and wide as 
the stopping-place of church people. Since the 
most of the visitors on this particular occasion 
tarried in the Shively home, it does not require 
a very great stretch of the imagination to picture 
the meeting as one of blessed communion and in- 

189 



Our Heroes, or 

spiration. We can almost hear their earnest con- 
versation as they discussed the good times they 
had enjoyed in other places where they had lived 
and wrought, and as they hopefully plan for the 
work in their new country. 

PLACE OF FIRST CONFERENCE. 

The first regular session of the Iowa Confer- 
ence was held in Columbus City, by Bishop Hen- 
ry Kumler, Jr., May 19, 1844. The charter mem- 
bers were: J. Durham, J. Everhart, J. Burns, 

C. Troup, D. Shaffer, A. A. Sellers, I. B. Ryan, 

D. C. Barrow, M. Garrison, and G. S. Clinger. 
The introduction of the United Brethren 

Church into this town a year or two before 
occurred under rather novel, if not amusing 
circumstances. Mr. F. R. S. Byrd, referred to 
elsewhere in this chapter, visited the place with 
the thought of establishing an appointment, but 
the people treated him with such indifference 
as to make him feel that he was not wanted. 
They seemed to regard him as an intruder, and 
so did not show him that courtesy 
Making an usually accorded to ministers. But 

Appointment *-' 

the plucky little fellow was not to 
be discouraged. He had gone there to preach, 
and proposed to test the field before leaving it. 
Accordingly, he wrote and posted at the hotel 
this notice: "F. R. S. Byrd, of the United Breth- 
ren Church, expects to preach in Columbus City 
this evening at candle-lighting. If a door is 
opened, all right; if not, then to the largest 
crowd he may find on the street." A Mr. Dun- 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

ham saw the quaint announcement, and invited 
him to preach in his house. At the appointed 
hour the people came, the services were held, 
and the way opened for the organization of a 
class. 

Mr. Byrd moved in later years to western 
Iowa, and finally into the territory now occupied 
by the Northwest Kansas Conference, where he 
became a charter member of that body, and 
where, in May, 1879, he "yielded up the ghost, 
and was gathered unto his people." 



191 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Our Heroes in Iowa — Continued. 

In 1855, D. M. Harvey first became ac- 
quainted with the United Brethren Church 
through the pioneers who preached in northeast 
Iowa. He vividly recalls the hardships they 
underwent in connection with their work. He 
tells of W. H. Richardson, a presiding 
elder, who died of exposure while traveling a 
district. Another, Israel Shaffer, was a 
great revivalist, but died prema- 
a sudden turely as the result of overwork. 

Death „ 

After preaching one morning this 
brother went to the home of one of his members 
and told him he had come to die. Three hours 
later he was in heaven. 

After itinerating a few years in northeastern 
Iowa, Mr. Harvey was transferred to what was 
then considered the frontier — Butler and Frank- 
lin counties. This was in the early seventies. 
The winter which followed was long and severe. 
Many of the newcomers were greatly distressed 
for want of food and fuel. It is easy to imagine 
how the preacher fared under such circum- 
stances. While Harvey endured his full share 
of suffering, his cup of joy, nevertheless, was 
full to overflowing. Supreme faith in the power 

192 




W. A. CARDWELL 
The First Missionary to Kansas, Sent by the Board in 1855 




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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

of grace to keep and guide always brings peace 
and rest of heart, no matter how great the toil 
and sacrifice required. 

One day while returning home from an ap- 
pointment, in company with his wife and babe, 
he was suddenly overtaken by the most furious 
blizzard he had ever witnessed. The 
caught in a sn ow was already three feet deep. 

Blizzard _ . „ , , 

In a few minutes after the storm 
struck them every vestige of the broken path 
seemed to disappear. They were eight miles from 
the parsonage, the most of the distance being 
across an unsheltered prairie. In addition to the 
falling snow, the gale gathered up that which had 
already fallen and hurled it into their faces. 
He says, in describing the event: "A team just 
behind us wandered from the road and went 
with the storm until they found a pile of straw 
into which the driver crawled, and thus saved 
his life. Placing Mrs. Harvey and the baby in 
the bottom of the sleigh, and covering them com- 
pletely with a quilt and buffalo-robe, I tried to 
guide the horses. If ever I strained my eyes 
for two hours, I did it then. Providentially, 
we kept in the right direction, and reached home 
in safety. When gathered about our humble 
fireside we sang praises to God for his abound- 
ing mercies." 

On account of the freezing weather and the re- 
currence of storms, it was difficult to hold reviv- 
als ; and with no such meetings, and the people, 
generally pinched by poverty, the missionary's 
family was reduced to almost absolute want. Let 

193 



Our Heroes, or 

him tell it : "Upon returning home from a meet- 
ing I was trying to hold, to see how things were 
going, my wife met me at the door with a look 
which betokened discouragement. 
Family in When I asked to know what the 

Want 

trouble was, she burst into tears, 
and said: We've been living on short rations 
now for three days, and the last mouthful of 
provision is gone. We haven't a bite for dinner.' 
After putting my team away, I knelt in the barn 
all alone with my Heavenly Father and laid the 
case before him. When I arose I felt sure he 
would come to our relief in this extremity, but 
I did not know how. Before the dinner hour 
came, however, a man from a distant neighbor- 
hood drove up with some flour, po- 
Reiief came tatoes, meat, and enough money to 
buy us a small supply of groceries. 
He also most earnestly requested that I come 
over and preach for them. So the promise was 
fulfilled — 'Trust in the Lord and do good, so 
shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou 
shalt be fed.' " 

Mrs. Harvey tells how the pangs of hunger were 
felt by her little children once in the absence 
of their father. And the fact that she could not 
help them made her very heart bleed. For two 
weeks they provided their bread by grating corn 
on a piece of tin punched full of 
a Touching: holes. This was a slow process of 

Scene . r 

obtaining meal, but there seemed 
to be no other way. One day a little darling, 
who had heard so much in the home about God's 

194 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

love and mercies, came to her mother and said, 
"Mamma, is the Lord going to let us starve 
to death and papa away?" The touching ap- 
peal was more than the mother could stand. 
Hearing that a certain neighbor was to butcher 
that day, she went over to buy some meat, but 
was sternly turned away because she had no 
money. Then it was that she sought out the 
secret place, and looked up through tear-dimmed 
eyes to Heaven for help. It was a period of 
keenest struggle between poverty and fear on 
one hand, and prayer and faith on the other; 
but faith triumphed. The following day a young 
man, who had been converted a short time be- 
fore, was impressed while dressing meat that he 
ought to give the preacher's family some, and so 
brought them enough to supply their needs for 
quite a while. 

Some may question the correctness of these 
statements, or at least the propriety of publish- 
ing them; but upon what grounds? Does not 
God hear and answer prayer? and is not the 
promise to the poor who lack bread? Others 
may quibble if they will, or reason as they please ; 
we believe the meat was sent in answer to the 
good woman's prayer. 

The South Dakota Mission Conference was 
organized in 1871. Mr. Harvey became a mem- 
ber of it four years afterward, and 
a New Field settled in Cherokee County, north- 
western Iowa, which constituted a 
part of the conference territory. The field he 
was asked to serve did not contain a single or- 

195 



Our Heroes, or 

ganized class. He was simply turned loose with 
the charge that he should plant and build up 
the United Brethren Church, which he did. 
Times were unusually stringent. The grasshop- 
per raid had spread desolation throughout that 
region. Poverty, like a gaunt specter, stared 
the people in the face until many, overcome by 
fear, left their claims and returned to the East. 
But amid it all Mr. Harvey remained at his post. 
His financial remuneration that year was $50.00 
from the people, and $40.00 from the Parent 
Board. 

Of -his work in after years, when a presiding 
elder, Mr. Harvey has this to say : "As I traveled 
the district through those years, and witnessed 
the sufferings of the preachers for want of food 
and comfortable homes, I wondered again and 
again how they could endure so much without 
a word of complaint." But with their suffer- 
ings came great victories. A missionary wrote 
the General Secretary as follows: 
a siumt of "After almost four months of un- 
ceasing labor in revival work in 
South Dakota, fighting the powers of darkness 
day and night on every side amid blizzards and 
freezing winds, we have seen over one hundred 
souls come up out of the cleansing fountain 
washed with the blood of the Lanib." 

We cannot resist the conviction that the 
church of God to-day w T ould be leagues beyond 
where it is if its divinely-appointed representa- 
tives thought and talked less about salary and 
more about winning sinners. Since revivals 

196 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

seldom fail to call out the best the people have, 
the matter of first importance then is to have 
revivals. Where a mission is unable to at least 
comfortably support its pastor, the general 
Church is duty bound to give aid. In no other 
way can a symmetrical denominational life be 
developed and sustained. 

The boundaries of this conference in later 
years have been so changed from time to time 
that at present it is known as North Nebraska. 
Though the membership is small, and limited in 
financial resources, it is, nevertheless, under a 
wise leadership, making a most commendable 
record in service and growth. 

ABNER CORBIN 

Among those who wrought mightily in estab- 
lishing United Brethrenism in Iowa was 
Abner Corbin. He was born in Hampshire 
County, Virginia, September 23, 1823. When 
twenty-one he accompanied his parents to 
Iowa, and soon thereafter was converted, joined 
the United Brethren Church, and was licensed 
to preach. He took up the regular work of a 
missionary about 1848, and thenceforth w T as one 
of the most active and efficient among the pio- 
neers. 

His labors extended westward in the State 

as far as Fort Des Moines and were of the most 

strenuous character. He kept a 

pushes brief diary for the first two or three 

Westward t/ # 

years of his ministry, which shows 
that his going and preaching were constant. 

197 



Oar Heroes, or 

A page or two from his jottings will tell the 
story of his work during his second year, and 
give the reader a glimpse of what circnit-riding 
in Iowa meant in those early days. 

"Saturday, October 14. This is our first quar- 
terly meeting. Brother Byrd and several others 
came in Brother Stipp's wagon. Brother Byrd 
presided in the absence of the elder. I preached 
at night from Psalms 20 : 5, called for mourners 
and eight came to the altar. The ark of God 
moved forward and seven were converted. We 
had a joyful time in the Lord. Four joined the 
Church. 

"Sunday, 15. We had a speaking meeting, 
and Brother Byrd preached at eleven o'clock and 
lifted a collection, but it was small. After this 
I opened the doors of the church, and two joined. 
We had a time of rejoicing. At night I tried to 
preach. When the people began to shout I 
called for mourners and several 
preaches came out. Three were saved and 

Daily 

one joined the Church. God's 
power was manifested in a wonderful manner. 
I preached again on Monday night and we had a 
good time. 

"On Tuesday I went to Brother John Baily's 
and preached to about fifteen persons. Next day 
I traveled through the rain about twenty miles 
to Brother Davis' where I had an appointment 
at four p.m. Thursday I rode to Brother Jacob 
Bonebrake's where I preached with good liberty. 
Friday I preached at the home of Brother Pear- 
cey. Saturday held meeting at Stipp's at eleven 

198 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

o'clock and at Father DeMoss' at night. Had 
good liberty. One joined the Church. 

"Sunday preached at Father Helm's on White 
Breast. Monday at four p.m. at Knoxville. Had 
good liberty. One joined the Church. At night 
we had prayer-meeting and the Lord was with 
us. Two joined the Church. The 
swims River next day, Tuesday, I preached at 
Brother Jiles' at three p.m., after 
swimming my beast across the South Three 
Biver, and crossing over myself on a few logs 
tied together. I preached again that night. 

"Wednesday, 25. Preached at Coppock's after 
swimming my horse across the Middle and Upper 
rivers, and, though I was late, the Lord was 
with us, and that to bless." 

So the man of God continued. These extracts 
merely give an example of what he did week by 
week during the early years of his frontier 
work. His consecration was thorough. Every 
few pages in his diary we find recorded a prayer 
for divine guidance and help in winning sinners 
to the Cross. The fact that at every service he 
opened the doors of the Church, and was con- 
stantly receiving members, indicates an unques- 
tionable loyalty to his Church for which he was 
sacrificing so much. 

His reference to his marriage is somewhat 

amusing, but indicates that his mind was on his 

work rather than on his wife. 

Marries "Leaving Brighton I traveled into 

Marion County, and on the tenth 

of April, 1850, 1 was married to Lucinda DeMoss. 

199 



Our Heroes, or 

The next day I started for my mission again, 
and reached it about the twentieth." It is to be 
presumed that the new wife accompanied him, 
and thereafter shared, in a cheerful spirit, the 
labors and hardships of her husband. The fact 
that she was a DeMoss is a guarantee that she 
was a typical United Brethren and deeply re- 
ligious. 

Once in a while the clouds gathered about Mr. 
Corbin, but in every case he records the worth 
of prayer. In one instance, after prayer and 
victory, he breaks forth shouting: 

"Now, Lord, thy heavenly grace bestow; 
My heart to cheer while here below; 
That I the gospel trump may blow, 
And by it more thy sufferings show." 

On the fly leaf of his diary is written in the 
style of his day the following verses which doubt- 
less expressed his conception of the mission and 
work of a true gospel messenger : 

"Oh, let all the people know, 
When I 've ceased my work below, 
That I was not ashamed to go 
About the gospel trump to blow. 

"Tho' my talents are but small, 
Let me still the louder call; 
Till I 've preached the word to all ; 
At my post then let me fall." 

This brave warrior yielded up his spirit at 
Western College, Iowa, in 1862, while yet in the 
prime of a noble, consecrated manhood. 

200 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

GEORGE MILL.ER 

Among the many recruits from other States 
who joined the workers in Iowa, it is proper to 
mention the name of George Miller. He be- 
longed to a family of preachers, having four 
brothers who, like himself, have given their lives 
to the ministry of the United Brethren Church. 
Mr. Miller moved from Ohio in 1872 and identi- 
fied himself with the Des Moines Conference, 
where he served two years as pastor, and as pre- 
siding elder ever since. 

The first session he attended, presided over by 
Bishop J. Dickson, was assembled in a little 
schoolhouse, twelve by fourteen feet in size, in 
Page County. Here the business was transacted 
and the religious services conducted. At this 
time the conference contained only 1,200 mem- 
bers, distributed over twelve pastoral charges. 
The salaries of the preachers ranged from f 50.00 
to |150.00. 

His first and only circuit was Carlisle, which 
comprised eleven appointments, and these had 
to be filled every two weeks. The year previous 
to his coming the entire Confer- 
First circuit ence had paid only $75.00 for mis- 
sions. Carlisle was assessed $20.00 
for this interest, but Mr. Miller being an adept 
in raising money, as his subsequent history 
clearly shows, brought up to the next session in 
cash for missions, $101.50. When it was seen 
what he had done, having raised more than all 
the conference beside, some of his brethren got up 
and said, "If God will forgive us, we will never 

201 



Our Heroes, or 

come up again with such reports." Thereafter 
the work of gathering mission funds took on 
new life, and brought to the treasury largely 
increased offerings. 

When elected presiding elder the district paid 
only $350.00. Out of this pittance, of course, 
house rent and traveling expenses had to be met. 
In order to economize in both men and money, 
he was given Des Moines Mission one year in 
connection with a small district of six charges. 
The conference appropriated |50.00. The mis- 
sion paid $150.00 and the district $175.00. His 
house rent was $15.00 per month. Becoming 
painfully conscious of the situation 
Borrow* Money confronting him, and not wishing 

to Pay Bills & > & 

to leave any store bills unpaid at 
the end of the year, he borrowed $200.00, at a 
high rate of interest, to square up accounts. 
When he found at conference time that he had 
$50.00 left, he generously refunded the amount 
that had been appropriated. The hardships he 
endured and the discouragements encountered 
were not unlike those of other pioneers who 
wrought at his side, or had preceded him in this 
difficult field. 

Among his early experiences there is one es- 
pecially which he has never forgotten. In one 

of his trips out on his district he 
Fans From wag c^g^t i n a snow-storm of un- 

usual severity, and, with two 
others, was fourteen hours going from Lehigh 
charge to Scranton — a distance of only ten miles. 
Much of the way they had to shovel through 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

drifted snow, with mercury forty degrees below 
zero. When within half a mile of their objec- 
tive point they were so nearly exhausted that 
they hitched their team to fence-posts, covered 
the animals with blankets, and endeavored to 
walk to the railroad station. But the elder had 
no strength remaining. After reaching the rail- 
road track, only a short distance away, chilled 
and helpless, he fell, unable to go any farther 
except as assisted by his companions. His face 
and hands were so severely frozen that the outer 
skin all pealed off, and it was months before the 
effects of the awful experience were removed. 

At another time his life was imperiled by his 
horse breaking through the ice as he was endeav- 
oring to cross Grand River. 

He described with much feeling the privations 
endured by some of his pastors and their fam- 
ilies. In some instances the children went bare- 
footed all winter, while their mothers were too 
poorly clad to attend church. As there were no 
parsonages then, the meanest kind 
Hardships of f s h ac k s were sometimes occupied. 

Pastors r 

Nothing better could be had. Mr. 
Miller declares that it was no uncommon thing 
in winter time to find, upon awaking in the morn- 
ing, that two or three inches of snow had blown 
in upon the bed and floor during the night. 
Many times, seeing the condition of the poor 
pastor and his home, the elder might have been 
observed going about through the neighborhood 
from house to house gathering food for them, 
and money with which to purchase clothing. 

203 



Our Heroes, or 

At that time quarterly meetings were usually 
held in private residences, or in little school- 
houses, as church edifices were few and widely 
separated. But a better day has dawned for 
preachers and people in Iowa. Thirty-five years 
has made a great change. While the work goes 
slowly, on account of the constant migration of 
the people to other sections and for other 
reasons, yet a good supply of churches and par- 
sonages and a better support financially have 
removed many of the inconveniences and diffi- 
culties incident to pioneer days. 



204 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Early Minnesota Workers. 

Up to 1849 the population of Minnesota, which 
was then made a Territory, did not exceed six 
thousand souls. When admitted to the Union, 
nine years afterward, this handful had grown to 
one hundred and fifty thousand. There was 
something about its climate, soil, and scenery 
which made it famous and attracted homeseek- 
ers from all the East. Perhaps no new section 
in the Northwest could ever boast of a more 
widely representative population than Minne- 
sota had in its early days. 

Its first territorial legislature was composed 
of men who had come from thirteen different 
States — not foreigners, as we now have them, 
but sturdy Americans, patriotic and Christian, 
as their official record abundantly proves. 

It is a question whether any commonwealth 

was ever constructed upon a foundation more 

stable and abiding than that which was laid by 

the framers of Minnesota's laws. 

a stable "Liberty and Law, Eeligion and 

Foundation ^ 7 ° 

Education" are the four great cor- 
ner-stones. In view of these things we are not 
surprised to find emigrants pushing their way 
into the new Territory, and that among them 
were United Brethren from every State from 
Illinois to Pennsylvania. 

205 



Our Heroes, or 

The first preacher, Edmund Glow, of the 
old Rock River (now Northern Illinois) Con- 
ference, went there in 1854 and finding the peo- 
ple scattered, like sheep without a shepherd, at 
once began to minister to them. The outlook 
seemed so hopeful that upon returning to his 
Conference the following year he asked and re- 
ceived ordination that he might go back prepared 
to administer the sacraments, and to organize 
churches. A mission called "Pine Creek" was 
mapped out and placed under his care. 

J. W. FUL.KERSON 

In the meantime the Missionary Board had 
been appealed to on behalf of the new field, and 
at once laid its hands on J. W. Fulkerson 
as a suitable representative for such a w^ork. 
The new man chosen was born in Frederick 
County, Virginia, January 16, 1822. When 
seventeen he was converted, and four years later 
joined the Virginia Annual Conference, in which 
he spent thirteen years as an itinerant. Mov- 
ing west, he stopped for a few months in Iowa, 
and then, at the behest of the Board, proceeded 
to the field assigned him. 

On the 26th of September, 1856, he took his 
family and household goods aboard a little steam- 
Rests with a er a * Muscatine, and started up the 
Feiiow- Mississippi. His objective point 

was Dacato, in Winona County, a 
small river village, where he was met by Edmund 
Clow and taken to his home some miles dis- 
tant. Here they tarried and rested a few days, 

206 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Writing concerning their stay with this servant 
of the Church, Mr. Fulkerson said, "They did 
not have very much to eat, but cheerfully divided 
with us, so it turned out that we all had plenty." 
It was simply another instance where the meal 
and oil were increased as God's servants had 
need. 

Securing two light wagons the missionary re- 
loaded his family and their belongings and 
started westward for Olmsted County, where he 
pitched his tent and held his first public meeting 
near the site of what afterward became the town 
of Eyota. Speaking of his field he comments as 
follows : 

"I found a sparsely settled country. The im- 
provements consisted chiefly of log cabins, rough 
board shacks, and sod houses. About each of 
these from five to twenty acres of land had been 
broken. What money the people 
condition of ^ a( j was S p en t during the long 

Country r ° • ° 

winter that followed, so that when 
spring came many were discouraged and home- 
sick. Living was high for both man and beast. 
I paid one dollar and fifty cents a bushel for 
oats, and two dollars and fifty cents for the 
first bushel of seed-corn. Pork was twenty-eight 
cents per pound and flour nine dollars per hun- 
dred. Potatoes could not be had at any price 
as they were all frozen before Christmas. On 
the second of December snow began to fall and 
continued without abatement for thirty-six 
hours, which left the ground covered at a depth 
of five feet. Wild animals and birds by instinct 

207 



Our Heroes, or 

gathered in flocks and perished. It was a per- 
iod of great suffering/' When this storm began 
a teacher who boarded with the 
Birds and missionary dismissed his school and 

Animals Perish , . . . 

urged his pupils to hurry to their 
homes. But one dear little girl lost her course 
and perished in the cold. The search for her 
body by parents and sympathizing friends con- 
tinued for thirty days before it was recovered. 

Such hardships brought a new experience to 
Mr. Fulkerson, but his courage was dauntless 
and his faith victorious. He was there to stay 
regardless of consequences to himself and family. 
In his devotion to the work and determination 
to succeed he was very much like Ignatius de 
Loyola whose zeal for the mother-church led him 
to say : "At the command of the Pope I will em- 
bark for any coast in a vessel without a mast, 
rudder, or stores." Only such men win. 

Mr. Fulkerson early became a student of hu- 
man nature, and thus learned to adapt himself 
to his environments, whatever their nature. 
When he started in the ministry his Christian 
mother most generously advised him as to what 
and how he should do when away from home. 
She said : " John, your rest must be 
a Mother's in i a b 0P# Greet all with a smile. 

Advice 

Make your back fit everybody's 
bed. By your social life attract the people, and 
by your religious life save them." This counsel 
he remembered and followed as long as he re- 
mained in active service. 

On the fifth of August, 1857, the first session 

208 



United Brethren Home Missionar 

of the Minnesota Conference was opened with 
Bishop Lewis Davis presiding. Only four — 
John Haney. Edmund Clow. John Murrell. and 
J. W. Fulkerson — were present to enter the new 
organization. The reports showed twenty-nine 
appointments, fourteen classes, and two hundred 
and forty-seven members. 

The three men who gave themselves to the 
work the following year received in financial 
support, including 8400 appropriated by the Gen- 
eral Board. 8564.60, or 8188.20 each. On this 
amount, with the little that could be grown at 
home, the missionary supported his family. But 
amid it all. so he informs us, he was happy and 
hopeful in his work. During the year his labors 
were unusually strenuous and his personal dis- 
comforts many. Long trips across storm-swept 
prairies, amid sleet and suoav. without any 
friendly home to offer shelter, not infrequently 
endangered life itself. Not being 
poncho wom gj^ tQ p rov icle suitable wraps for 
the frigid climate, he made a sort 
of poncho out of a blanket, such as the Indians 
wore, and used it until a friend, lately from the 
East, loaned him his sealskin overcoat for the 
rest of the winter. 

On one trip he rode his horse twenty-eight 
miles, the coldest day he ever witnessed, in the 
face of a northwest wind, without stopping to 
warm and with nothing to protect him but his 
Indian garb. About this time he met a Jesuit 
priest, who said he had slept fourteen nights 
under snow, farther north. 

209 



Our Heroes, or 

Subsequent to this the General Missionary 
Secretary, in describing the work in Minnesota, 
wrote : "When in the providence of God his peo- 
ple are required to make great sacrifices for him, 
grand results are sure to follow. 
a secretary^ j jag ^ f a u ^ seemed hard to ask a 

Report 

brother who had removed to west- 
ern Iowa, two hundred miles, to educate his fam- 
ily, to move back again in just one year; and 
another, to take a field of labor that would keep 
him most of the time from an afflicted wife, who 
could not be moved." 

In 1865, I. L. Buchwalter, a presiding elder, 
described the situation thus: "There seems 
to be a general spirit of prayer among us here 
this year, and especially on the border. Eeviv- 
als are being promoted and new classes organ- 
ized. On Ottumwa mission we have started a 
new class of thirteen, embracing the best citizens 
of the neighborhood. It was at this place where 
the Indians did such terrible work in slaughter- 
ing the whites in 1862. It is quite on the border 
in sight of the boundless prairies. The preach- 
ers here have to work for very small salaries. 
The people are poor, having just come in. Many 
live in sod houses, partly underground, and 
roofed over with poles, brush, and earth. They 
have no lumber with which to build, or money 
to buy. Food for the preachers horse can 
scarcely be found. Much hay was burned last 
fall by untimely prairie fires. Yet, how wel- 
come to this people in rags is the preaching of 
the gospel with its cheering, soothing voice." 

210 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Mr. Fulkerson, in a letter recently written, re- 
fers to the Indian outbreak mentioned in the 
foregoing report. He says : "It was a great loss 
to Minnesota when, in August of 1862, twenty- 
one of her noble sons and daughters were cruelly 

slain by the Sioux Indians. The 
Indian Sabbath before the outbreak I vis- 

ited the neighborhood where the 
massacre occurred and organized a class of thir- 
teen members. Some of our people had moved 
there from my neighborhood, and I wished to 
save them to the Church. With one of these 
families I tarried on Sunday night. The next 
morning I was up and away as the sun made 
golden and beautiful the eastern horizon. I left 
the brethren full of good cheer, not so much as 
dreaming of the awful fate that awaited them. 
But the plot had been formed and before I 
reached home had been executed in cold blood." 
How narrow the escape of the missionary! 
While the laymen slain were noble souls and 
were greatly needed in building up the Church 
in the "Star of the North," how much greater 
the loss would have been to that section, and to 
the whole Church, if their leader had been num- 
bered with them. 

Jealousy and whisky were the main causes of 
the massacre. The Government felt most keenly 

the loss of these citizens, and with- 



in a few months had arrested, con- 

Punishment 



Swift 

victed, and executed, on the same 
gallows, seventeen of the leading offenders. 
Mr. Fulkerson, the hero of so many battles, 

211 



Our Heroes, or 

has never quit the field to which he was assigned 
more than a half century ago. At the age of 
eighty-seven he retains his mental powers in a 
remarkable degree and is as much concerned in 
the progress of his Church as ever before. In 
his last message he says : "I am jealous for God's 
truth. The more of the Bible we have woven 
into our lives the richer our experience, the more 
successful our labors, and the brighter our hope 
of heaven. If I had my life to live over I should 
spend it in the Church of the United Brethren in 
Christ. The name is richer and sweeter to me 
now than ever before," 



212 



CHAPTER XX. 

The Work in Missouri. 

As has been noted elsewhere, the first United 
Brethren class known in Missouri w r as organ- 
ized in Clark County in 1851, by John Ever- 
hart, of the Iowa Conference. The second was 
established not long afterw r ard in Union County 
by Ira B. Ryan, of the same conference. The 
first regular preaching, however, was done in the 
southwestern portion of the State 



by Henry Kumler, Jr., Josiah Ter 

Preachers ** v 



First 

rell, and others, and here, in 1853, 
a conference was organized. Mr. Kumler was 
sent as a missionary by the Board. 

In 1858 the conference north of the Missouri 
River, composed mainly of ministers who for- 
merly belonged to the Des Moines Conference, 
was launched by Bishop Edwards. That the 
first conference organized still existed, and was 
independent of the second, are facts clearly 
shown by Daniel Shuck, who spent the year 
1858-59 in the State under the direction of the 
General Board. In his diary we find this item : 
"October 1. Missouri Mission Conference met; 
in its fifth session at the residence of Brother 
Coblentz. Members present, Bishop D. Edwards, 
W. B. Southard, A. P. Floyd, and D. Shuck. We 
closed our meeting on Sabbath, the tenth. " 

213 



Our Heroes, or 

Doctor Berger, in his history of the Church, 
says the North Conference was organized Octo- 
ber 18, at Atlanta, in Macon 
conferences County. If this be correct, then 

Organized 

evidently the Bishop went to the 
last-named point direct from the session referred 
to by Mr. Shuck. In a succeeding chapter we 
shall have occasion to speak further, and at 
length, of this missionary's labors in Missouri. 

It is a question whether the ministers of any 
part of the great Southwest have ever made a 
more heroic effort to build up and sustain the 
Church than have those who chose Missouri as 
the scene of their toil. As no authentic history 
of the two conferences in their early years can 
be found, except what Missionary Shuck inci- 
dentally furnishes, we are unable to give the 
reports of the workers, and consequently know 
nothing of the pecuniary support they received. 

The proceedings of the North Conference for 
1862 show eight missions and one circuit. Seven 
men were employed and received an aggregate 
salary of f 938.00. Of this amount f 500.00 was 
furnished by the Mission Board. But great re- 
vivals were promoted in spite of the 
Gre ?* excitement occasioned by the war, 

Achievements ^ 7 

and the utter contempt in which 
the Church was held by extreme political parti- 
sans. The membership was increased from three 
hundred and forty-eight to nine hundred and 
ninety. 

The next session was held in April, 1864. 
Twelve preachers reported a salary, all told, of 

214 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

11,604.21, including another $500.00 from the 
Board. The Secretary of the 1865 session in- 
serted in the minutes the following comment 
which is significant : "Had some drawbacks this 
year. Old rebel Pap Price made a raid into 
Missouri. Some of the preachers were shot at, 
but the Lord spared us all." This shows some- 
thing of the tension under which the missionaries 
carried forward their work; nevertheless they 
reported progress in some regards. 
Membership The num b er f gelds had grown to 

Grow* ° 

seventeen, and the aggregate mem- 
bership enlarged to 1,337. The salary and ap- 
propriations aggregated $1,293. The two pre- 
siding elders together received |419.16. The 
enlargement of the work was truly marvelous 
under the circumstances. God so blessed it that 
at the end of 1867 the number of communicants 
was 2,382. With what tireless zeal and effort 
the gospel messengers pressed their cause, and 
with what courage they braved the hardships 
which must have come to them and their fam- 
ilies ! 

M. BRATCHER 

Only one of the older ministers in the State 
remains to connect us with the sixties. Mr. M. 
Bratcher has been in constant service, until re- 
cently, since 1869. His first year was spent on 
Eagleville Circuit, and the next on Marysville. 
The last named consisted of eighteen appoint- 
ments located in portions of Nodaway and 
Worth Counties, Missouri, and Page and Taylor 

215 



Our Heroes, or 

Counties, Iowa, This indicates that the boun- 
daries of the conference extended across the 
State line, and included a small portion of 
southwestern Iowa. 

The field was sixty miles long, north and south, 
and forty east and west. Each appointment was 
filled every two weeks, which made it necessary 
to preach every day in the week 
cfrcuu an( ^ three times on Sunday. Of 

course, such a charge kept the 
preacher away from home nearly all the time, 
hence he was compelled to study on horseback, 
and in that way prepare himself for examina- 
tion in his conference reading-course. At times, 
owing to the deep interest he felt in some book 
he might be reading, he would become utterly ob- 
livious of his surroundings. On one occasion, 
while thus absorbed in his studies, his horse, un- 
noticed, took the wrong course, and when he 
came to himself he was so bewildered that it 
took him some time to determine where he was, 
and how to get back to the main road again. 
At conference he reported seventy-two acces- 
sions and a salary of $269.00. He 
Requisites to always considered three things as 

Success ^ ° 

essential to ministerial success; 
namely, grace, good sense, and courage. And 
all these requisites he possessed in a large degree. 
The next conference was held at Avalon, one 
hundred and sixteen miles distant, and every 
foot of the journey had to be made on horse- 
back through the mud. On his return he was 
compelled to ride two miles through water mid- 
216 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

side to his horse in crossing the Shoal Creek 
bottoms. 

Soon after entering the work of his confer- 
ence, his faithful companion and helpmeet in 
Christian service bade him and their six little 
children good-by, and pushed out into the vast 
unseen. He speaks of this as the "hardest trial" 
of his life, but he has never forgotten the exper- 
ience which made her last moments so glorious 
and heaven like. Pointing upward, and with a 
face all wreathed in smiles, she exclaimed, "I 
see Him! oh, I see Him!" After sharing with 
her husband in whatever fell to 
companion the lot f an itinerant in that dav, 

Dies " 7 

how fitting that she should be given 
a vision of her Lord as she gave to her husband 
and little ones the last farewell; and will not 
the dear Savior recognize her when the crown- 
ing-time comes as the: copartner of his servant 
in the ministry of reconciliation? 

When Mr. Bratcher joined the conference lie 
was made Missionary Treasurer. A number of 
the preachers received $50.00 each from the Gen- 
eral Board. This, to be sure, was a small 
amount, but it often saved them from serious 
embarrassment. To them it meant so much that 
at the end of each quarter they would beg him 
to borrow the pittance due them and pay it if 
he did not have it in the treasury. As we go 
over the work of the heroes of a half century 
ago, and see how inadequate their support was, 
and then consider what they had to do in return 
for the little salary paid them, we are astonished 

217 



Our Heroes, or 

and wonder how it all happened. For many 
years Mr. Bratcher's pay did not average more 
than |160.00 

While moving from Kidder to Eagleville in 
a wagon one September morning, soon after 
conference, a most distressing accident occurred. 
Little Milton, a six-year-old boy, lost his balance, 
fell to the ground, and was instant- 
ciiiid Kiiied ly killed by a wheel which crushed 
his head*. The remains were ten- 
derly gathered up and carried back to the 
Wheeler graveyard, where they were laid away 
to rest by the side of his sainted mother. When 
the sad funeral was over, the father and remain- 
ing members of the family journeyed on to their 
appointed field. The real struggles of that year 
were never known, perhaps, to any souls on 
earth outside the little group in the parsonage; 
but the good angels of God dwelt there, and in 
their ministries of love filled with comfort and 
hope the bereft heart. 

This old servant of the Church still lives, 
though nearly blind and almost helpless. In 
reviewing the long years of his ministry he thinks 
not of their hardships. "After all," he says, 
"the yoke has been easy and the burden light." 

While the financial conditions in Missouri 
have greatly improved in recent years, and our 
pastors are receiving a better sup- 
a Hopeful p 0r |- than ever before, yet many of 

them work on a salary by no means 
adequate to their needs. Though the membership 
of the conference has been greatly depleted by 

218 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

removals, and in various other ways, we never 
saw the day when the Church in Missouri was 
so well equipped for service and success as at 
present. Despite the adverse conditions which 
have prevailed from first to last, we have accum- 
ulated Church and parsonage property worth 
more than $100,000, and the work of building 
still goes on. The membership is gradually 
growing at present, and everywhere throughout 
the conference there is to be found an optimism 
and enthusiasm which presage achievements 
hitherto unknown among our workers. 



219 



LESSON V. 



Chaptee XVII. 

1. What did eastern people think of the West? What is the 
real character and value of Iowa as a State? 

2. Who was the first United Brethren minister to settle in 
Iowa ? 

3. Tell of A. A. Sellers, his removal to Iowa, and his search 
for Mr. Byrd. 

4. When and by whom were the first classes formed in Iowa? 

5. Tell of Mr. Sellers' experience in storm and in swollen 
stream. 

6. Who sent Mr. Everhart to Iow^a, and what of his work, 
his hardships, his preaching ability, etc. ? 

7. What do you recall about the meeting at the home of Joel 
Shively? 

8. When and where was Iowa Conference organized, and how 
was the Church introduced into Columbus City? 

Chapter XVIII. 

1. Tell of the early recollections of D. M. Harvey, of his 
experience in the blizzard, of his family's sufferings, of his removal 
to South Dakota Conference, of the hardships endured by him and 
his coworkers there. 

2. What of Abner Corbin? What does his diary say about 
his work, his experiences in swimming rivers, etc.? 

3. When did George Miller go to Iowa, and what was the 
financial record of Des Moines Conference up to that time? 

4. Describe his experience in snow-storm ; also the sufferings 
of the pastors under him. 

Chapter XIX. 

1. W T hat United Brethren preacher first went to Minnesota? 

2. When and by whose appointment did J. W. Fulkerson go? 

3. What does he say about the country at that time, its 
people, winters, etc. ? 

4. When was the conference organized? What membership? 
W T hat salaries, etc.? 

5. What advice did Mr. Fulkerson's mother give him? 

6. What is said of the Indian outbreak? 

7. What is the feeling of the old hero at this time? 

Chapter XX. 

1. Who first preached in Missouri, organizing classes? 

2. Tell something of the early organization of the conferences, 
revivals, salaries, etc. 

3. Describe the work and peculiar trials of M. Bratcher, as 
an itinerant, also in the loss of his wife and child. 

4. What is the present outlook of the conference? 

5. Should work planted at so great a cost be hurriedly 
abandoned ? 

220 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Kansas Pioneers. 

When the United Brethren entered Kansas 
the Territory was in the throes of civil strife. 
Senator Stephen A. Douglas had introduced a 
bill in Congress the year before providing for the 
recognition of Kansas and Nebraska as Terri- 
tories, but the bill contained a clause which left 
with the people of each Territory the matter of 
deciding whether it should be slave or free. 
The adoption of the measure 
Unrest** 1 was a P^ 11 violation of what was 

known as "The Missouri Compro- 
mise," which had been agreed upon and meant 
that slavery was not to be extended beyond Mis- 
souri. The agitation in Congress was soon trans- 
ferred to Kansas, and the people there divided 
into the Slavery and Free- Soil parties. 

The struggle between the two parties became 
desperate. The election in 1854 resulted in the 
triumph of the pro-slavery party, and in 1855 a 
legislature was convened at Lecompton, later and 
for many years the seat of our Lane University. 
The Free-Soil party, which charged that frauds 
had been perpetrated in the election, in various 
ways, called another legislature at Topeka and 
set up a rival government. The strife and blood- 

221 



Our Heroes, or 

shed which followed attracted the attention of 
the whole country, and everywhere the people 
bemoaned the condition of "bleeding Kansas." 
Missouri, a slave State, was bent on 
Kansas 8 forcing her questionable system 

upon the new Territory, and to 
carry out her program sent hundreds of her 
voters across the line to control the elections. No 
man along the border was safe if he dared to 
express adverse sentiments, or appeared to sym- 
pathize with the Free-Soil advocates. 

Such a state of affairs, in the very nature of 
things, would make church work slow and un- 
certain of success. 

WILLIAM A. CARDWELL, 

In 1855 the General Board sent W. A. Card- 
well, of White Eiver Conference, as a mis- 
sionary to Kansas. So far as we are able to 
determine, only one missionary, S. Y. Lum, 
a Congregationalist, preceded him in the new 
field. 

Mr. Cardwell moved his family in a wagon, 
and was one hundred and thirty-five days mak- 
ing the journey. Upon reaching the Territory, he 
found himself homeless, penniless, and almost 
friendless. Settling in a shack at 
H^me -B*S Springs, he at once began a 

survey of the country, and soon 
had an appointment for every day in the week. 
Some of the preaching-places were a day's travel 
from home. "Wind and tide" were against the 
hero. No support for his family, and a bloody 

222 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

political controversy, created conditions which 
tried his very soul. Including the small appro- 
priation made by the Board, his salary for the 
first year did not exceed $65.00. How his de- 
voted wife and children existed during this try- 
ing period, God only knows. We rejoice in the 
thought, however, that he does know and has a 
perfectly kept record of it all. 

Mr. Cardwell was a man who thought for him- 
self, and had the courage of his convictions. He 
stood for the freedom of Kansas, and had made 
bold to express his views whenever there was 
occasion for it. Such a course 

rJ£™*r°™ made him a tar S et £or the P r °- 
slavery element, and consequently 

endangered his life. His neighbors who were 
friendly with him, but not with his views, fre- 
quently warned him against further denuncia- 
tion of slavery and whisky ; but to him the path 
of duty seemed clear, and he was bound to walk 
in it regardless of personal results. 

On one occasion he met twelve "border ruf- 
fians" squarely in the road. They were all 
armed, and he was quick to see that his safety 
lay in a bold front; so he walked right up to 
their guns, which were leveled at him, as though 
he utterly disregarded them. The usual ques- 
tion w r as put to him — "Where are you from?" 
to which he replied immediately, "Kentucky." 
This seemed to satisfy them. His answer was 
true, though he had lived many years in Indiana 
after leaving his Southern home. 

J. C. Bright, the General Missionary Secre- 

223 



Our Heroes, or 

tary, about this period wrote as follows: "The 
political sky in Kansas is cloudy at present, but 
freedom must in the end prevail. If Kansas 
should ever be a slave State, we ought not to 
abandon it. The gospel of Christ is light, and 
wherever the dark cloud of slavery is spread, 
there the light should be diffused. 
Mobbed* 11 *" Through sore troubles and perse- 
cutions the brethren continued to 
prosecute their w r ork. Frequently they have 
been mobbed, waylaid, shot at, threatened, and 
troubled on every hand, but they are not in des- 
pair." Again he says: "If our brethren who 
are now in Kansas have preached between 
stacks of arms ; if they have seen brother pursu- 
ing brother with a view to kill; if they have 
seen the smoke and heard the roar of cannon ; if 
they have had their own property stolen; yea, 
more, had revolvers and knives pointed at their 
hearts, and threatened with instant death, — I 
say, if men who have passed through such expe- 
riences as these say they are not discouraged, 
what should be our response?" 

A dozen armed "bushwhackers" came to arrest 
Mr. Oardwell one day at his home, and found 
him digging a well. In obedience to their or- 
ders he came out, but upon reaching the surface 
found himself in front of a dozen guns. Un- 
daunted by these he began to ridi- 
BnemiM* cule them for their cowardice, say- 

ing, "Surely twelve brave men 
would not think of firing on an innocent man, 
and he unarmed," whereupon the leader of the 

224 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

squad remarked: "Don't shoot, boys. I'll never 
stand by and see as brave a man as he is, killed." 

For political reasons a number of persons 
had been arrested and imprisoned at Lecompton. 
One or two of these were special friends of the 
preacher. Anxious to see them, he went to the 
guard and asked permission to enter the jail. 
The gruff reply was : "No, sir. Jesus Christ him- 
self couldn't get in if he were here." "If I am 
not mistaken, he is in there now," replied Mr. 
Cardwell, and quietly walked away. 

The first United Brethren class in the Terri- 
tory was organized by him at Big Springs in 
1855, consisting of thirteen members. Of this 
number, four — B. S. Moore, Mat- 
First ciass and ti Cardwell, D. Lawrence, and 

Church-House 

Xancy Brooks — still survive. The 
following year a church-edifice of stone and 
cement was erected under the missionary's 
supervision for the new class, a cut of which 
may be seen on another page. 

About the time the Church was established 
here a certain doctor decided to set up a saloon, 
and accordingly purchased a barrel of whisky. 
Satan is always most active when the work of 
God prospers. But the alert Cardwell was de- 
First termined that the influence of his 

Temperance recent revival efforts should not be 
counteracted in any such fashion; 
so he called a meeting of the citizens, mounted 
the whisky barrel, and made such a withering 
speech against the proposed saloon that the in- 
dignant people proceeded at once, without cere- 

225 



Our Heroes, or 

mony, to empty the barrel's contents into the 
doctor's yard. 

Such was Mr. Cardwell's way of doing things ; 
and such has been the method of Kansas ever 
since in dealing with the liquor traffic. Indeed, 
it may be truthfully said that Kansas is great 
to-day because the foundations on which her 
moral, civic, and commercial interests rest were 
made broad and strong by the noble men who 
laid them. 

S. S. SNYDER 

This gallant member of the King's guard, 
sent by the Board from the Allegheny Confer- 
ence in 1856 to assist Mr. Cardwell, became a 
victim of political guerillas, and laid down his 
life in attestation of his loyalty to the Church, 
and his love of human liberty. He was the first 
presiding elder of the conference, and by his 
pulpit utterances and newspaper articles, 
aroused against himself the most intense hatred 
and opposition on the part of the Church's ene- 
mies. His life was threatened almost daily. 
His friends cautioned him to be more conserva- 
tive, but the brave Snyder, like Enoch, God's 
prophet before the flood, contin- 

GuerrmL ued to warn the people "of all their 

ungodly deeds." Finally, the por- 
tentous cloud, which had been so long gather- 
ing, broke in fury upon the town of Lawrence, 
where he lived. A young school-teacher from 
Kentucky, by the name of Quantrill, raided the 
place at the head of an armed force, reduced it 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

to ashes, and mercilessly killed one hundred 
and fifty of its citizens. Mr. Snyder was found 
in his barn-yard, and instantly shot down at the 
hands of the bloodthirsty mob. Thus on that 
fateful day there were left to mourn eighty new- 
ly-made widows and two hundred and fifty 
newly-made orphans. This was in 1864. 

It is clear, from what we have shown, that the 
civil strife which existed in Kansas during the 
first ten years of the Church's operations there, 
and the consequent bloodshed and social es- 
trangements, made the work difficult and pain- 
fully slow. But a braver, truer band of men 
never lived and wrought than were the United 
Brethren who planted and nurtured the Church 
of their choice on Kansas soil during these per- 
ilous times. 

JOSIAH TERRELL. 

Josiah Terrell moved to Kansas from southern 
Missouri in 1856, and joined himself to the 
handful of workers already on the ground. 
While preaching in Missouri he suffered many 
indignities at the hands of the Church's oppos- 
ers, being threatened more than once with mob 
violence. But, like many of his contempora- 
ries, he had given himself to the cause of human 
freedom, and to the work of the Church, and 
proposed to carry out the program at all hazard. 
His chivalry knew no fear; his zeal for the king- 
dom knew no languor. Serving as presiding 
elder in Kansas for years he became well known 
and was loved by all the churches. 

227 



Our Heroes, or 

Though his support was pitifully small, and 
his privations manifold, he always took a hope- 
ful view of things, and believed most implicitly 
in a sustaining and over-ruling Providence. One 
illustration will serve to show the true spirit of 
the man. One day, when travel- 
Rive7 U In< ° * n g * n com pany with missionary 
Cardwell, his horse mired as he en- 
tered a stream, and fell in the ice-cold water. 
The rider, however, with rare presence of mind, 
kept in the saddle, and when the horse finally 
came to his feet again, shouted at the top of his 
voice, "Glory to God for salvation/' After rid- 
ing many miles farther in his wet clothes, in the 
face of a cold March wind, he preached with 
great power to a crowded house. 

It may not be out of place, in this connection, 
to give, briefly, the history of a church bell with 
which this pioneer had to do. While it may 
have but little relation to the general purpose of 
this book, it will, without doubt, interest the 
reader, as it has in it a touch both of the roman- 
tic and pathetic. 

On his way from General Conference in 1849, 
he purchased a bell in Cincinnati for a certain 
church in Illinois, and as he could get it for 
half price, paid for it himself. When the bell 
was put up he had a note made in the quarterly 
conference record to the effect that 
g"^ s a the property was his, and should 

be so recognized, until paid for. 
After a while the preaching-place was dropped, 
the church sold, and a law-suit instituted by 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

certain parties to secure the bell. While the 
trial was in progress the real owner rode into 
town, and, hearing of what was going on, at once 
looked up the old quarterly-conference minutes, 
presented them to the court, and demanded the 
property, which was awarded him without hesi- 
tation. In 1854 he moved the bell in his wagon 
to Missouri, later to Mound City, Kansas, and 
finally to Lecompton, when he sold it to the 
Presbyterians for ninety dollars. 

A few years passed and these people gave up 
their appointment here, and built in the town of 
Perry, north of the Kaw River, a mile and a half 
distant. Being in need of a bell they decided to 
transfer to the new church the one they had left 
in Lecompton, and accordingly sent for it. But 
the denizens of the little burg re- 
captured fused niost positively to see it 
moved. They had paid for it, they 
said, and proposed to keep it. Nothing more 
was said for the time. Finally, the Fourth of 
July came around. The people of Lecompton 
were patriotic, and all went out to a grove a 
mile or two away to celebrate. Upon returning 
home in the evening they were greatly surprised 
to hear the clear tones of their venerable bell 
ringing out from the cupola of the Perry Presby- 
terian Church, it having been carried away in 
their absence, and without their knowledge. 

This was not all. Father Terrell, in his last 
years, moved to Perry and died there; and this 
same bell called the people to his funeral, which 
was conducted by Dr. G. M. Human, and tolled 

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Our Heroes, or 

a solemn requiem as the procession started 
toward the place of his burial. 

ORGANIZATION OF KANSAS CONFERENCE. 

On the 30th of October, 1857, Bishop David 
Edwards organized the Kansas Conference in a 
sod house owned by S. S. Snyder. Other 
helpers, who will be noticed later, had come in 
by this time. Five ministers besides the Bishop 
and two laymen were present. The church- 
membership was about two hundred. The follow- 
ing appointments were made : S. S. Snyder, pre- 
siding elder. Tecumseh, W. A. Cardwell; Big 
Springs, A. M. Thornton; Lawrence, S. Kret- 
zinger ; Prairie City, J. S. Gingerich ; Upper Ne- 
osho, G. Perkins ; Lower Neosho, A. Bixler ; Fort 
Scott, J. Terrell; Ossawotamie, W. Huffman. 



230 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Trying Times Among Kansas Pioneers. 

While strong men were added to the ministry 
of the conference from time to time, the work, 
nevertheless, was difficult for many years. Va- 
rious reasons conspired to make it so. The con- 
stant agitation of the slavery question, and the 
deadly hostility aroused among the Southern 
and Northern people who had gone thither to 
live, militated greatly against religious work in 
general, and especially in communities where 
both elements were represented. Brother was 
arrayed against brother. Despite this situation, 
however, our membership grew, until it num- 
bered nine hundred and twenty-eight by 1860. 
The increase came largely from the United 
Brethren who had moved in from other States. 

In the midst of the political turmoil, which 
continued without abatement, came the great 
drouth, unparalleled in American history. An 
old settler describes it thus: "Enough rain did 
not fall in some localities from early in the fall 
of 1S59 until midsummer in I860 to lay the dust. 
In the spring, farmers went to work with the 
hope and expectation that rain 
a Destructive WO uld come< but thev were disap- 

Drought . a . _ 

pointed. Vegetation tried to start 
up. but soon died ; springs and creeks went dry ; 
wells gave out, and many persons were forced to 

231 



Our Heroes, or 

haul water for drinking and cooking purposes 
for miles. Finally, the hot winds set in, blister- 
ing and withering everything in the line of veg- 
etation that possessed a semblance of life. Mer- 
cury was driven higher than it has ever been 
since, and the fields and prairies were as brown 
and dead as in winter. Then began that re- 
markable exodus which, in seventeen months, 
reduced the population of the Territory from 
115,000 to less than 75,000. Our Church in its 
organization was almost ruined. Many classes 
disappeared entirely, while in other cases only 
mere skeletons were left; but, be it said to the 
honor of our preachers, that, with an exception 
or two, they all stood to their posts. When one 
of them was asked why he did not go, too, he re- 
plied : "Because I am needed here 
c^lT Jt worse than ever before. If the 

people starve, I will starve with 
them. It seems clear to me that all the heroes 
have not gone down to death on the bloody 
battle-field." 

This graphic portrayal of the sufferings which 
came to the pioneers in Kansas will give the 
reader a faint conception of what it cost our 
missionaries, and others, to establish United 
Brethrenism in that section, and thus make pos- 
sible the splendid achievements which have fol- 
lowed. 

The Civil War following the famine, as is 
well known, kept the whole country in a state of 
unrest for several years. Kansas suffered its 
full share of the results. So it may be said that 

232 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

the first decade of the Church's operations in this 
field, including Missouri, was a period of the 
most strenuous effort accompanied by a devotion 
and heroism unsurpassed in the history of Amer- 
ican missions. 

Other men of faith and valor, beside those al- 
ready named, like William Huffman, Henry 
Bell, and N. Bixler, joined the forces of the new 
conference in the early fifties, and wrought 
nobly as the heralds of truth. Their names not 
only deserve mention here, but are worthy of a 
place among the heroes enumerated in the elev- 
enth chapter of Hebrews. 

G. M. HUFFMAX 

Among the early effective workers in North- 
east Kansas was GL M. Huffman. In 1869 he 
was given annual conference license by Bishop 
J. Markwood, and appointed to his first field 
— New Lancaster Circuit. For fifteen years 
his salary ranged from $125 to 

fupTort $ 2m He § ave a11 his time t0 the 

ministry. During this period, and 

ever since, except five years, he furnished his 

own house. "The coldest winter we ever passed 

in Kansas/' he writes, "we lived in a house with 

nothing but weather-boarding between us and 

weather thirty degrees below zero. That was 

our hard year, but we had a great revival during 

the winter." 

While Mr. Huffman's educational advantages 

were limited to a brief period in "Old Western," 

he has always been a student, and so may be 

233 



Our Heroes, or 

reckoned a man of learning. His main source of 
culture, he says, has been the "New York Inde- 
pendent," which he has read continually for 
the last thirty-five years. 

To his wife he pays the following beautiful 
tribute : "I must give credit for whatever of suc- 
cess that has come to my ministry to the one 

who has for forty years 'halved my 
ttifovT* sorrows and doubled my joys.' 

The zeal for the cause of Christ 
which characterized her grandfather, John Nei- 
dig, burns in her heart to this day. If I could 
live my life over again I would spend it in the 
ministry without any regard to the hardships it 
might entail. My only desire would be to make 
of myself a better preacher than I have ever 
been." 

JOHN R. MEREDITH 

This brother, prominent for many years in the 
early work of the Church in Kansas, had his ups 
and downs, encouragements and discourage- 
ments, with every other preacher who was faith- 
ful to his calling, and loyal to the best interests 
of the Church he loved and served. 

At the very threshold of his itinerancy, Mr. 
Meredith was thoroughly tested. The poverty 
among some of the people was appalling. Being 
unmarried, he devoted all his time to the work, 
sharing with his parishioners the morsel they 
had to divide. His salary for the first year was 
only fifty dollars. Out of sympathy for the 
poor, he gave them all his clothing except the 

234 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

suit he wore. In late winter and early spring 
his pony, for want of grain, which could not be 
had, became too weak to carry him, thus making 
it necessary for him to travel his large field on 
foot. 

A fact which merits emphasis here is that the 
laymen ofttimes suffered just as much as did the 
ministers, yet were willing to divide the little 
they had with the man of God sent to preach 
among them. The following incident from Mr. 
Meredith's own pen will serve as 
pov^ty e ° f an illustration : "One evening, af- 
ter preaching/' he says, "a brother 
asked me home with him for the night, and the 
invitation was cheerfully accepted. When there, 
however, I was puzzled to know how they could 
furnish me a place to sleep. The house was a 
little plank shack of one room, and contained 
only one bed. But I finally dismissed the sub- 
ject from my mind, remembering that I was their 
guest, and that it was their business to provide 
accommodations. After conversing pleasantly 
for an hour or two, and some one having sug- 
gested that it was bed-time, the good man of the 
house went out and brought in an armload of 
dry prairie hay and threw it on the floor. Then 
the wife, who seemed to understand her part, 
spread a clean sheet over it, tucking it carefully 
under the hay on all sides, added the needed 
quilts and pillows, and then I was informed 
that my bed was ready. The rest it afforded 
was greatly enjoyed, as I was exceedingly 
weary." The generous souls who so cheerfully 

235 



Our Heroes, or 

furnished the primitive accommodations no 
doubt were made happy over the thought that 
they were entertaining God's herald, and were 
led to serve the Church thereafter with a grow- 
ing love and devotion. 

Mr. Meredith had faith. He believed in that 
Providence which is pledged to care for the 
saints. The element of trust had been instilled 
into his early home life; yet he never lost sight 
of the thought that God helps those most who 
try to help themselves. When stationed at 
Leavenworth, he had occasion to test most fully 
the assurance of the Word. The class was small 
and poor. Fifty dollars had been appropriated 
by the Missionary Board, but that was barely 
enough to pay rent. For many weeks during 
this year his wife was dangerously ill. Not be- 
ing able to hire help, he had to be nurse and 
cook, preacher and pastor. At last his sister- 
in-law came to his relief, and assumed a part of 
his care. One day, after the noon 
The woif at j h informed him that noth- 

the Door ' 

ing was left for supper — not a 
thing. He replied that it was a little strange 
that everything should give out at once. He had 
no money, and did not want to ask for credit 
at the grocery. In the meantime he was pray- 
ing most earnestly for light and help. Toward 
evening his sister-in-law asked him what he was 
going to do. He told her he did not know cer- 
tainly, but thought things would come out all 
right. Finally, the hour for prayer-meeting 
came, and he went, as usual. After the service 

236 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

he started home, but was called back by some 
one. Upon returning he was shown a large basket 

filled with provisions, such as 
came ReHef bread, coffee, sugar, butter, meat, 

and a dressed chicken — the very 
thing his sick wife needed. In addition, a little 
purse of four dollars was placed in his hands. 
The recipient was so overjoyed that he could not 
express his gratitude. When he reached home 
and emptied his basket his sister-in-law threw 
up her hands in amazement and shouted, "Rob 
Meredith, where on earth did you get all that?" 
The reply was, "The Lord gave it to me." Re- 
ferring to the matter long afterwards, he said, 
"I believed it then, and I believe it now — the 
Lord gave it to me." 

At another time, while in Leavenworth, they 
were reduced to corn bread and water, but a good 
Providence sent relief, thus verifying the prom- 
ise, "But my God shall supply all your need ac- 
cording to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." 



237 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Other Kansas Pioneers. 

J. R. Evans, a crusader of the Illinois Confer- 
ence, was among the early United Brethren who 
chose southeast Kansas as his field, and gave it 
many years of his mature life. His memory is 
precious to all who knew him. Unremitting in 
toil, unswerving in purpose, and unfaltering in 
faith, he had a large part in laying the founda- 
tions of his Church, and in preaching the gospel 
to all the people in the parts where he spent his 
last days. 

Owing to the long distances he had to travel, 
together with the excessive labor thrust upon 
him, he was kept away from home almost con- 
stantly. Once, after an absence of 
b^t^mL ^ en wee ks, h e remained with his 

family only one night, and his de- 
voted wife spent all that night washing and dry- 
ing his clothes, that he might be able to get away 
early the next morning. 

As a presiding elder he was strong, heroic, 
wise, and fatherly. During an exceedingly dry 
year he traveled continuously among the 
churches to encourage them, and to aid and 
comfort the poor itinerants who, like himself, 
had been reduced to the point of suffering. But 

238 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

great revivals resulted from his visits through- 
out the district, which reached far to the West. 
The people were in a mood to hear and heed the 
messages of God, and by hundreds turned their 
faces toward the "better country/' and decided 
to lay up for themselves treasures beyond the 
reach of famine and death. What had not been 
dried up by the scorching sun was destroyed by 
grasshoppers, which were gradually moving east- 
ward, like a great army, in quest of food. 

The Osage Conference, which had been organ- 
ized in 1870, met this year (1874) at Greeley, 
Kansas; and while Bishop Glossbrenner was 
reading the appointments the grasshoppers be- 
gan to light about the church, and by the time 
The the congregation was dismissed, 

Grasshopper the ground was literally covered 
with them, and devastation fol- 
lowed in their w r ake as they swept on toward the 
Missouri line. When the good Bishop saw r the 
poverty and hardships that awaited his devoted 
pastors and missionaries, he wept like a child, 
and tried to encourage them with the assurance 
of help from the Church in the East. Later, 
several hundred dollars were raised through his 
efforts, and sent to their relief. One remarkable 
thing about this conference session was that 
every preacher was returned to the field he had 
served the previous year, and not a man among 
them flinched in the presence of the certain 
hardships which stared him in the face. Strong 
men were seen to weep as they looked upon their 
dependent ones. They were content to go hun- 

239 



Our Heroes, or 

gry themselves, but could not stand it to hear 
their children cry for bread. 

In the midst of the awful famine, which ap- 
pealed so powerfully for outside help, Mrs. 
Susan Cardwell, wife of William A. Card- 
well, mentioned at length in another chapter, 
wrote a letter to Mrs. President 
Appeal to Grant, with whom she had become 

President 

acquainted during war times, and 
told her about the excessive sufferings of the 
people in Kansas on account of the grasshopper 
invasion. She assured the lady of the White 
House that, though her husband was a minister, 
he did not need help, but plead most earnestly 
and tenderly that the President, or some one else 
in authority, might be enlisted in the interest 
of the helpless sufferers about her. The appeal 
so impressed the President that he immediately 
took steps to relieve the distressing situation, 
and the Secretary of War kindly answered the 
letter, assuring the good woman that her request 
had been granted, and that supplies would be 
forwarded at once from St. Louis. This caused 
many to rejoice, and to pour out their hearts in 
thanksgiving to God. 

Mr. Evans, like the general he was, stood in 
the front ranks among his noble fellow-toilers, 
and sounded the note of victory from one end of 
the line to the other. Once he rode eighty miles 
to attend a quarterly meeting, and received only 
seventy-five cents for his services. Sometimes the 
life of a good man means as much, or more, than 
his words. So it proved in his case, at least with 

240 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

one soul. Mr. George Gay, in his travels one 

clay, came upon an emigrant family. In talking 

with them he found that the wife 

The power d mother was a United Breth- 

of Example 

ren, and got from her the story of 
her conversion. She said she had never heard, 
or spoken to the man who was the means of her 
salvation. When living in another part of the 
country, she looked out from her window one 
cold, stormy day, when it seemed too awful for 
any one to be out, and saw an old man trudging 
along through the drifted snow. She did not 
have any idea who it was, but remarked that 
somebody must be sick, or dead, as nothing else 
would induce a man to 'run the risk of freezing. 
A neighbor, who happened to be present, then 
looked out, and recognizing the lone traveler 
said, "Why, that's Mr. Evans, the old preacher, 
on his way to fill his appointments." "What!" 
exclaimed the woman, "that poor, old man fac- 
ing all this storm for the sake of sinners, and I 
unsaved!" So the Holy Spirit that day blessed 
the faithfulness of his servant to the saving of 
a sinner. 

The last full year the old hero ever spent on 
a circuit he witnessed over a hundred conver- 
sions, and received as many into the Church. 

His end was triumphant. Having 
En^ eacefUl preached fifty-eight years, he was a 

ripe sheaf for the heavenly garner. 
When a friend asked him how he felt, he replied, 
"All these years I have been living for this hour, 
and it is all right now." How much richer 

241 



Our Heroes, or 

heaven must have been in moral worth the day 
the conqueror reached home. 

To his loved ones he did not leave that doubt- 
ful blessing — a large fortune, but he left that 
priceless heritage which money cannot buy — a 
name without a stain, a reputation without a 
blemish. 

J. R. CHAMBERS 

It is a pleasure to know that a few of the 
Church pioneers who took part in opening up the 
work in some portions of Kansas and in other 
western States still remain, and can give, by 
word or pen, their own experience back in the 
days when it meant so much to be an itinerant. 
Among these is J. R. Chambers, a member 
of Neosho Conference. Soon afteor returning 
home from the Civil War, in which he had 
served, he entered another army under the ban- 
ner of the Cross, and gave himself thereafter to 
the ministry of the United Brethren Church. 
His lot was the same as that of his comrades in 
service when the country was comparatively 
new, and the crop failures, for one reason or 
another, were so frequent and disastrous. He 

tells us that the wolf came so near 
Famny rIng *^ s door at times that nothing was 

left on which to subsist but bread 
and home-made coffee. As the children did not 
like the coffee, they had to be content with bread 
alone. 

He preached at one point all year, and at 
three others for three months, and, all told, re- 

242 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

ceived only $3.75. Many times he would walk 
twenty-five miles on Saturday, preach at ten- 
thirty on Sabbath, walk twelve 
circuit HI * miles to another place and hold 

service at four o'clock in the after- 
noon, preach again at night, and then walk 
home, twenty-five miles, on Monday, where he 
put in the next four days trying to provide for 
his dependent family. When presiding elder he 
was often absent eight weeks at a time, while his 
devoted helper in the Lord, and the little ones, 
were a mile distant from the nearest neighbor. 
Others suffered in like manner, but not being 
here to tell the story themselves, and having left 
no written record behind, we shall never know 
to what extent they served and endured until 
the "books aire opened" at the last great day, and 
their works are made manifest in the white light 
of the throne. 

R, W. PARKS 

While the Church operated in the eastern part 
of the Territory as early as the fifties, it could 
move westward only as the tide of emigration 
rolled that way, hence the process was slow. 
When it is remembered that Kansas is four hun- 
dred miles long, east and west, it will be seen 
that time was required to build up settlements 
even half way across this great stretch of coun- 
try. But as communities sprang up our preach- 
ers, as a rule, were on the ground to look after 
their spiritual needs, and to care for the sheep 
of our own fold. It is to be regretted that in 

243 



Our Heroes, or 

later years, when the population increased so 
rapidly, we were unable, as a Church, to meet 
the demands made upon us. 

Early in 1871, R. W. Parks, of the Cen- 
tral Illinois Conference, moved into the Arkan- 
First in sas valley, and was the first United 

Arkansas Brethren to lift the banners of his 

Church in all that country. In 
fact, no services, so far as he could ascertain, 
were held by any church in the valley, except 
in the village of Wichita, and there only occa- 
sionally. While there were not many people to 
be gotten together in any neighborhood, Mr. 
Parks at once recognized their needs, and began 
to plan appointments over as much territory as 
he could possibly cover. In May of this year he 
organized the first class, called Pleasant Valley, 
some fifteen miles from Wichita, in what is now 
known as Southwest Kansas Conference. The 
charter members were E. H. Clark and wife, F. 
M. Dick and wife, and R. W. Parks and wife. 
The next March he held a revival here, which 
added sixteen to the little organization. 
This was the first revival held by any of our 
preachers in the valley. At this time he did not 
know of a United Brethren minister nearer than 
a hundred miles. A lone servant he was, far 
away from kindred and friends, riding across 
bleak prairies, at times through blinding snow- 
storms, not knowing whither to turn for food or 
shelter, that he might minister to perishing souls, 
and plant firmly the standard of his beloved 
Zion. 

244 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

His wife's people in Ohio were anxious to have 
her come home, and offered to defray all ex- 
penses; but she said: "No, I will not do that. 
Let them send me the money to live on and I 
will stay here in the work." And so she did. 

When the Osage Conference met in the fall of 
1872, Mr. Parks requested, by letter, that a pre- 
siding elder be sent to the field he had under- 
taken to cultivate, for the purpose of organ- 
ing a mission. Accordingly, D. 
oprned SSl0n Wenrich visited him shortly there- 
after, organized his appointments 
into a mission, and called it "Little River." 
The next year he and another brother drove 
one hundred and fifty miles to conference in 
a covered wagon, camping along the way 
wherever night overtook them. Returning 
home, he started afoot to the field assigned him, 
fifty miles distant, not knowing that he would 
get a dollar for the year's toil except what the 
Board and eastern friends might furnish. This 
was the drouth and grasshopper period, when 
every particle of vegetation in all that country 
was destroyed. The people and preachers suf- 
fered greatly, but, as has been noted elsewhere, 
aid came from outside sources in time to relieve 
their distress, and to help them along until an- 
other harvest could be gathered. 

When the Arkansas Valley, now Southwest 
Kansas, Conference was organized, in 1881, Mr. 
Parks was one of its charter members, and con- 
tinued in the work for many ye^rs. Like nearly 
all the other preachers of his day in central Kan- 

245 



Our Heroes, or 

sas, he had to provide for his family in part by 
locating them where they could till the soil, or 
otherwise secure employment. Though he was 
influential and successful as a pioneer, and was 
respected wherever he went for his ability and 
untiring efforts, his salary only averaged about 
$200 a year through all the period of his active 
service. At this time he is living at Toronto, 
Kansas, ripe in years, rich in experience, strong 
in faith, and joyous in hope. 

It is proper in this connection to refer again 
to Mr. George Gay, who was Mr. Parks' associ- 
ate on the frontier for many years. Though mod- 
est and retiring in disposition, his courage was 
lion-like. Through heat and cold, through rain 
and storm, he continued in his chosen work. He 
might have been seen week by week driving a 
farm wagon across prairies or up and down the 
Walnut Valley. He carried with 
provisions ^im a m ess-chest, provisioned at 

home, and slept in or under his 
wagon on the banks of the Antelope, or wherever 
he chanced to be when darkness came on. 

When compelled to cease his itineraries be- 
cause of old age, he set about to make permanent 
the work in his own community, and so remained 
true till death to the vows of his early ministry. 
Being a United Brethren by birth, tastes, in- 
tuitions, and aspirations to manliness of char- 
acter and usefulness of life, he illustrated 
through his entire career those lofty traits typ- 
ical of the Church's noblest sons. 



246 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

P. P. SMITH 

Among the preachers who entered the work in 
central southern Kansas a third of a century 
ago, none, perhaps, was more faithful and self- 
sacrificing than F. P. Smith. The first confer- 
ence he attended, the Osage, was held in 1875. 
The next year he became a member, and there- 
after was identified with every interest of his 
chosen field. He was one of the twenty min- 
isters who entered into the organization of Ar- 
kansas Valley Conference. The newness of the 
country, the poverty of the people, and the dif- 
ficulty of the work in general, created conditions 
which thoroughly tested the mettle of every man 
who went to the front. 

Prom 1871 to 1881, eighteen charges had been 
formed in this new territory, showing how rap- 
idly United Brethrenism had taken root in the 
virgin soil of Kansas. 

A glance at the minutes of the earlier sessions 
of the conference will reveal some- 
oto s™* thing of the real sacrifices made by 

its loyal representatives. One of 
the presiding elders says : "I traveled during the 
year, 4,402 miles. Salary, $268.78. Traveling 
expenses $71.04, leaving a balance of |197.74." 
The other elder received, above expenses, $225. 
The next year one of these men reported $400 
salary, less $100.04 expenses. Two hundred serv- 
ices were held, and five thousand nine hundred 
and fifty-five miles traveled. The other received 
$375.50, and preached three hundred and four- 
teen sermons. Of course, from this pittance all 

247 



Our Heroes, or 

expenses had to be met. And be it said to the 
honor of these heroes that they gave all their 
time to the work. The records show that as late 
as 1887 the average salary was only f 152.11. Mr. 
Smith's first charge was Sheridan Mission, which 
paid him nine dollars in addition to the twenty 
dollars appropriated by the conference. 

At one of the conferences Bishop Kephart, 
after listening to a number of reports, said: 
"Brethren, how do you get along? 
*™ d Tliey What do you live on?" Instantly 

one of the men, noted for his wit 
and directness, replied, "Live on? Why, Bishop, 
we live on sand and scenery." 

At the session of the Southwest Kansas Con- 
ference held in Wichita, in August, 1907, Mr. 
Smith read a paper on the history of the Church 
in the Arkansas Valley, giving some interesting 
personal reminiscences, which w r e here subjoin : 

"The happiest days of my life were spent at 
the front with saber flashing in the sunlight, 
with cannon booming in the distance, and with 
musket rattling on every hand. Yes, at the 
front, where the battle is warmest, is the grand- 
est place of all. At the front with 
Happy wife and little children, with ap- 

pointments thirty-five miles apart, 
and living for weeks at a stretch on corn bread 
and water. But what of it? it was the best bread 
I ever tasted, and the water was the purest and 
the most delicious I ever drank. When we got 
tired of sod houses within, and of the howling of 
wind and wolves without, we did not hurry back 

248 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

to some of the stronger charges to find a hearth- 
stone already warmed, but proceeded to build 
churches of our own. 

"While in the West it fell to my lot to care for 
an annual conference, which proved quite a task. 
No one was expected to pay for his meals. I was 
getting along nicely providing homes, but then, 
as now, the pastor was expected to do his share 
of entertaining. At this time we were poor, and 
had no money. There were no gro- 

aC r onrerenee CerleS ° f ^ Mjld ln the h ° USe - A 

bit of meat and a very little flour 
constituted our supply. Wife was worrying a 
good deal. In fact, I was, too, on the sly, but I 
kept humming the chorus, 'Fm the child of a 
King/ Then I would say to wife, 'Be quiet, 
dear, God is our Father/ The conference was to 
meet on Thursday. About noon Tuesday a 
young man came to our door with a beautiful 
young lady and inquired, 'Is this where the min- 
ister lives?' You can guess what he wanted. 
After the marriage ceremony he put a ten-dollar 
gold piece in my hand, and then bade us good-by. 
When I looked around, wife was crying. I said 
to her, 'Dry your tears; here are the groceries 
for conference.' I thought then, and think now 
that the Lord sent that young couple to the par- 
sonage just to help us. 

"While in that short-grass country I got in 
debt $20, and some how could not get out. The 
firm I owed kept dunning me for the money until 
I was in distress. I tried to explain, but they 
failed to understand my situation. One day, 

249 



Our Heroes, or 

upon going to the post-office, I received two let- 
ters. The first one I opened was from my cred- 
itors, and was full of criticism and insinuations. 
It questioned my honesty and right to preach. 

It was a sad moment. Finally, I 
in Debt opened the other letter, and, to my 

utter amazement, it contained a 
f 20-draft from Brother John Dodds, of Dayton, 
Ohio. I can never describe my gratitude and 
feelings of joy at that moment. I had never seen 
Brother Dodds, nor even communicated with 
him. Many years afterward I met him at a 
General Conference, and told him all about it. 
With tears he said, 'Never mind, dear brother, I 
have been doing this kind of work for a long 
time/ " 

On one occasion, Mr. Smith says, his presiding 
elder visited him when all they had to set before 
him was corn bread and water. After the frugal 
meal, they bowed in prayer around the table, 
while the elder poured out his heart to the 
Father of mercies in prayer. It was an hour of 

precious fellowship. About this 
t" ** a time this same elder wrote Mr. 

Letter 

Smith, saying, "Only God and the 
good angels know what my family is suffering 
for the sake of the Church." How blessed the 
thought that God did know all about it. 

Years ago this dear soul who wrote so tenderly 
of his family, quit the cross for a crown, and en- 
tered upon his long-sought rest. Surely the Mas- 
ter will accord such heroes a place very near him- 
self in glory. 

250 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Among the charter members of this conference 
was J. H. Snyder, one of the West's strongest 
men, and secretary of the General Conference 
since 1885. 

C. V. McKEE 

The first United Brethren preacher to settle 
within the bounds of what now constitutes 
Northwest Kansas Conference was C. U. 
McKee, formerly an itinerant in the old East 
Des Moines Conference. He pitched his tent in 
Mitchell County, near Beloit, in 1873. At this 
time we had no class organizations in the 
county, nor anywhere else westward in the 
State. Soon, however, he began to make ap- 
pointments where enough people could be gotten 
together to have preaching, and, as the result, 
societies were formed at various points, which 
afterwards developed into centers around which 
strong charges were built. 

In 1878, he erected the first United Brethren 

house of worship in his country, and now the 

oldest church edifice in the confer- 

Biuit First ence. For his first six years' work 

Church-House ^ 

he received in salary |150. This 
meant, of course, that he had to labor with his 
hands between Sundays, as did nearly all the 
pioneers. The truth is, we would have but little 
in the West to-day if the early preachers had not 
so toiled. 

In 1879, the Northwest Kansas Conference 
was set off to itself, with twenty-three ministers 
and thirteen charges. McKee was made secre- 

251 



Our Heroes, or 

tary, and served in this capacity for several 
years thereafter. He also traveled as presiding 
elder nearly a score of years. He knew, as did but 
few others, what the pastors in those early days 
of the conference had to undergo, 
Frontier an( j wr j_tes most tenderly about 

Hardships J 

them. "The hardships of these men 
of God," he says, "were such as frontiersmen al- 
ways have to suffer — exposure, scarcity of food 
and clothing, extensive travel, hard work, heat 
and cold, drouth and flood. Their families 
shared all these trials in a noble spirit of self- 
sacrifice. In view of the little support received, 
God only knows how they managed to live and 
get along. But they did live and labored on 'as 
seeing Him who is invisible,' and wrought glo- 
riously for the Church." 

It would be a pleasure to mention, in this con- 
nection, the other twenty-two brave men who en- 
tered the conference as charter members with 
Mr. McKee, but lack of space forbids. Suffice it 
to say that they were faithful to every trust im- 
posed, and suffered much for the Church's sake, 
"that they might obtain a better resurrection." 

That the reader who is unacquainted with 
frontier life may get a glimpse of what it means, 
we give the following somewhat amusing inci- 
dent: E. Shepherd, of this con- 
fneia°enT r ference, who was elected presiding 

elder at its first session, was 
preaching one Sunday in a "dugout." Because 
of the elder's presence, the little room, probably 
sixteen by twenty feet in size, was crowded with 

252 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

anxious, earnest listeners. Right in the midst 
of the service, a horse hitched outside took 
fright, and suddenly sprang upon the roof of 
the dirt house, which was not sufficiently strong 
to bear him up. It is easy to imagine the sur- 
prise and consternation of the worshipers, in- 
cluding the preacher, when the animal's legs 
came crashing through between the poles used 
to support the sod covering. A stampede fol- 
lowed, which, of course, broke up the meeting, 
and the men hastened to rescue the horse from 
his suspended position. Such were the places in 
which quarterly meetings were held. 

Northwest Kansas is one of the most vigorous 
conferences in the West, and is manned by pas- 
tors who give themselves, without reserve, to its 
work. At the close of the first year 
Early the conference had increased its 

Records 

membership from 752 to 1,389. The 
thirteen pastors, however, received in the aggre- 
gate only |1,450.48, or an average, each, of 
fill. 58. The highest salary, $190, was received 
by J. H. Bloyed on Lawrence Creek Circuit. 
Next came J. J. Burch, on Wolf Creek, with 
$185. A. S. Poulson ranked third, reporting 
$175.58 from Salem, while J. McMillen stood 
fourth, with $160.50 from White Rock. But the 
workers of to-day are faring better. "One sow- 
eth and another reapeth." This is the divine 
law, and holds good in the church as well as in 
nature. It has been decreed that "both he that 
soweth and he that reapeth shall rejoice to- 
gether" in the final gathering of the harvest. 

253 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
Pioneers in Colorado. 

E. J. Lamb, who became prominent in the 
early work of the Church in Nebraska and Colo- 
rado, was born in Indiana, January 1, 1832. In 
1842 his parents moved to Iowa, and fifteen 
years later the young man, with thirty-five 
others, landed in eastern Kansas. Here he re- 
mained for nine years, when he located in Saline 
County, Nebraska. Two years later he decided 
upon the ministry as his life work, and began to 
preach on the frontiers of Nebraska and Kansas. 

Those were trying days. The battle for bread 
and raiment with the new settlers was fierce and 
long. Mr. Lamb was fully awake to the situ- 
ation, and understood well what an 
Trying itinerant's life would mean to him. 

Days 

He says: "We preached in dwell- 
ing-houses, many of them constructed of sod, and 
sometimes in dugouts. Occasionally, the luxury 
of a fairly good schoolhouse was offered for serv- 
ices. We succeeded in organizing a number of 
classes on Little Blue, Turkey Creek, and the 
West Blue, It was not all sunshine, however, 
with us. The red skins annoyed us a good deal. 
The Omaha and Pawnee tribes had to pass 
through our sparsely-settled neighborhood in 
going to and from their hunting-ground farther 

254 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

west. They would both beg and steal when 
camping near us. Farther on we had more seri- 
ous trouble with them. They be- 
indian came exasperated over what they 

Cruelties . _ x . 

considered an encroachment of 
their rightful domain — their buffalo hunting- 
grounds — by the whites, and determined to drive 
the settlers out of the country. A large body of 
the Sioux swept down the Little Blue River, kill- 
ing many settlers and stealing a large number 
of horses and cattle. They came close to our 
neighborhood and massacred a number on Big 
Sandy. I was called upon to preach the funeral 
of some who were murdered in their harvest- 
fields. A Mrs. Eubanks and a Miss Laura Koper 
were taken prisoners; also two children, who 
were tomahawked on account of their crying 
from fright. 

"A number of us, one hundred or more, went 
to the front under Governor Butler's orders to 
guard the borders. We moved our families to 
Big Blue River, and there threw up a sod em- 
bankment for a breastwork of protection in case 
the Indians should venture that far east." 

This indicates something of the actual dangers 
which confronted the early ministers in their 
work in the Northwest. Later, we will have oc- 
casion again to refer to the Indian uprising in 
this section, and to the cruel killing of one of 
our ministers. 

In the spring of 1870, Mr. Lamb, with W. J. 
Caldwell, and a layman, John Elliott, traveled 
two hundred miles to attend an annual confer- 

255 



Our Heroes, or 

ence held at Lecompton, Kansas, when he was 
ordained by Bishop Dickson. During the follow- 
ing winter, while in a great revival, 
Goe» to a letter was received by him from 

Colorado -»*-.. ot 

D. K. Flickmger, Missionary Sec- 
retary, saying: "The Board has this day de- 
cided that you go to Colorado and join Rev. St. 
Clair Ross in missionary effort for the upbuild- 
ing of our cause in Christ's name, and for the 
glory of God in those far-off mountains and 
vales." With this order came a draft for $200, 
which indicated the Board's faith in him and the 
territory to which he was being directed. 

May 25, 1871, he bade his wife and little ones 
good-by, and started. It required a horseback 
ride of three days to reach the nearest railroad 
station — Junction City, Kansas. He felt sad 
over the pairting. He says : "For a short time I 
experienced a feeling of loneliness. Home and 
a loving wife and children are a blessing to be 
appreciated, and the separation seems to intensi- 
fy that home feeling. But self-denials must be 
endured, and trials overcome in order to final 
triumph." 

Reaching Denver, he walked twelve miles 
down the Platte River to the home of Mr. 
Ross. The year was spent in preaching, pros- 
pecting, organizing, and such other 

Bunds First work as usually falls to a frontiers- 
church ~ 

man. He built the first United 

Brethren church in Colorado, eleven miles below 
Denver, near the Platte River, assisted by 
Mr. Charlton, a local preacher. He not only 

256 




William Daugherty 



Mrs. William Daugherty 




Daniel Shuck 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

superintended the work, but labored with his 
own hands for days and weeks. They erected a 
tent near by, where they ate and slept while thus 
engaged. 

In his autobiography he describes most vividly 
his experiences this year. Sometimes he w r as 
greatly encouraged ; at other seasons he had his 
misgivings. Some blessed and helped him; 
others opposed and hindered his work. On one 
occasion he was even shot at by a hidden foe. In 
early fall he visited Estes Park, far back in the 
mountains. Before returning, a lady friend in- 
sisted upon his taking her revolver with him, de- 
claring that he did not know what emergency 
might arise for its use. On the way back to fill 
his appointments, some thirty or forty miles dis- 
tant, as he was winding his way around the 
banks of the St. Vrain, to avoid 
Attacked by wading the stream, he came upon 

Mountain L«ion ° 7 r 

an open piece of ground where 
grew some currant bushes covered with ripe ber- 
ries. Pausing a few moments to sample them, 
he was suddenly surprised and alarmed at the 
appearance of a huge mountain lioness only a 
few rods distant. Evidently she had whelps 
nearby, and had come to their rescue. Before 
he could get his revolver in hand the angry beast 
was almost close enough to leap upon him. Fi- 
nally, he let drive at her. The big pistol sounded 
like a cannon in the stillness of the mountains. 
With a snarl, and a bound in the opposite di- 
rection, she disappeared in the bushes. More 
than likely the bullet took effect, but the 

257 



Our Heroes, or 

preacher did not tarry to investigate. He was 
only too willing to part company with his newly- 
found foe, and with a crescendo movement scur- 
ried onward toward a safe retreat. In referring 
to the exciting experience afterwards he ire- 
marked that had it not been for the gun his lady 
friend gave him, the scriptural prophecy of the 
lion and lamb lying down together would cer- 
tainly have been fulfilled. 

At the end of a thirty-mile journey, he lodged 
at a ranch-house, and rested on the floor on some 
old quilts. The next morning he was out be- 
times, and trudging along toward his Sunday 
preaching-places. 

In this connection it may be proper to speak 
more particularly of the Colorado Conference. 
The work there has always gone slowly. For 
various reasons it is a difficult field to cultivate. 
An ever-changing population makes permanency 
next to impossible. This is true with all the 
denominations. The migration of some of our 
people thither induced the Board to send 
St. Clair Koss, of the Illinois Conference, among 
them as a missionary in the fall of 1869. He 
bore his own expenses in going, but 

workers an a PP ro P r i a ti° n of $200 was made 

for his support the first year, and 
$115 additional was collected from outside 
sources. The next man on the ground was 
W. H. McCormick, of the Central Illinois Con- 
ference, who followed Mr. Koss in the spring of 
1870. He was a professional teacher, but seeing 
the great need of preachers, he threw himself 

258 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

into the itinerancy of his Church, and for years 
was a prominent figure in the councils and per- 
sonnel of the new mission field. Perhaps no one 
gave the work more standing in its earlier his- 
tory than did Mr. McOormick. 

In 1872 the Colorado Conference was organ- 
ized by Bishop Dickson. The charter members 
were St. Clair Ross, A. Hartzell, 
conferee and w H McCormick. The mis- 

Organized . 

sion charges numbered three, 
namely, Denver, Ralston, and Left Hand. To 
each was appropriated $266. There were also 
three classes, with an aggregate membership 
of seventy-two. The following year L. S. 
Cornell, a man of culture and strength, was 
added to the working force, and the four mis- 
sionaries received each, upon an average, $309.82. 
Rather small the compensation for a quartet of 
brave, active men, willing to give themselves to 
pioneer service. Mr. Cornell later became prom- 
inent as a leader in the educational work of the 
State, and won distinction as the superintendent 
of its free schools. 

Returning to the labors of E. J. Lamb, it 
should be said that after spending a year in Col- 
orado he returned to Nebraska, and 

Nebraska* was em Pl°y e( l by the Board to as- 
certain, as nearly as possible, the 
number of our people that had settled in that 
new country. One hundred dollars were appro- 
priated to defray expenses. Mr. Lamb, however, 
was averse to going alone, and offered Byron 
Allen, a local preacher, the whole of the ap- 

259 



Our Heroes, or 

propriation if he would accompany him. When 
informed that their mission would be to visit 
among all the people, natives, Swedes, Bohe- 
mians, and others who might come in the way, 
Allen replied : "Certainly I will go. I fought all 
through the Civil War, and why should I fear 
sinners, Swedes, Bohemians, oir the devil him- 
self?" 

After traveling over the central and south- 
eastern portions of the State, visiting from set- 
tlement to settlement, and frequently from house 
to house in a neighborhood, their work was 
finally concluded and reported back to the 
Board. Seven hundred and sixty- 
Reports to three members, forty classes, twen- 

Board ? ■ r ' . 

ty-one local preachers, and thirty- 
one Sabbath schools had been found. Our peo- 
ple and preachers had gone there mainly from 
Iowa and Kansas. The report was so encour- 
aging that a new conference was organized in 
October of 1873 by Bishop Glossbrenner, with 
eight hundred and forty-one communicants, 
twenty-six ministers, six circuits, and thirteen 
missions. 

Mr. Lamb, in a short time, removed his family 
to Colorado, where he continued in active service 
as a pastor and presiding elder for many years. 
At this writing he lives at Estes Park, a beau- 
tiful summer resort, some thirty-five miles dis- 
tant from Loveland. Though seventy-six years 
old he is quite strong, and preaches nearly every 
Sabbath during the summer and fall to the many 
who gather there for health and pleasure. 

260 



LESSON VI. 



Chapter XXI. 

1. What were the political conditions in Kansas in the fifties? 

2. Who went to Kansas as the first United Brethren mission- 
ary, and when? 

3. What of his courage and the dangers to which he was 
exposed ? 

4. What report did Secretary Bright make concerning the 
work ? 

5. When and where was the first class organized and the first 
church built? 

6. When and where was the first temperance battle? 

7. Relate the cause of S. S. Snyder's death. 

8. What was the character of Josiah Terrell's work? Recall 
the story of the church bell. 

9. When, where, and by whom was Kansas Conference 
organized ? 

Chapter XXII. , 

1. What was the experience of the Church in those days? 
What of the awful drought? 

2. Tell something of the life of Doctor Huffman ; also of 
John R. Merideth. 

Chapter XXIII. 

1. Give the experiences of J. R. Evans when presiding elder. 
Review the grasshopper invasion, the 1874 conference, and the 
securing of Government help by Mrs. Cardwell. 

2. How was a lady saved through Mr. Evans without know- 
ing or hearing him? 

3. What of the hardships of J. R. Chambers and family? 

4. Where did R. W. Parks settle, and what was the nature 
of his work at first? 

5. What of George Gay, his associate? 

6. When did F. P. Smith become an itinerant, and what 
support did he and others receive? 

7. What does he say about the frontier? About providing for 
conference and about his debt? 

8. What is his testimony concerning his presiding elder? 

9. What preacher first settled in Northwest Kansas? Give 
his early work and his estimate of his colaborers? 

10. Relate incident connected with Elder Sheperd. 

Chapter XXIV. 

1. Give briefly the service of E. J. Lamb up to the time 
of his appointment to Colorado? Tell of his experience with the 
red man. 

2. When was he appointed to Colorado and by whom? 

3. Tell of his encounter with a mountain lion. 

4. When was the Colorado Conference organized, and who 
were its leaders? 

5. For what purpose was Lamb employed by the missionary 
Board in Nebraska? 



261 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Pioneers in Nebraska 

It may not be generally known in the Church 
that a mission conference was organized in Ne- 
braska by Bishop Edwards in 1858. J. M. 
Dosh, of Des Moines Conference, was the leading 
spirit in the new enterprise. But slow progress 
was made for want of men and money. In 1861 
it numbered only one hundred and thirty-five 
members. Shortly after this it was discontin- 
ued, and placed under the care of what was then 
known as West Des Moines Conference. Our 
people, however, continued to come in from va- 
rious sections until, as has been noted elsewhere, 
they numbered nearly eight hundred, and again 
it was found necessary to organize. 

Nebraska is a great State, and has furnished 
a splendid field for the Church, though we have 
not been able to cultivate it as its real needs de- 
manded, or as the opportunities would have per- 
mitted. A large portion of it is still genuine 
home mission territory, and appeals strongly to 
the general Church for help. 

WIL.L.IAM P. CALDWELL 

William P. Caldwell was a captain, cour- 
ageous and noble, and proved a very great factor 
in establishing United Brethrenism in eastern 
Nebraska. Settling near where the town of 

262 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Swantom now stands, he began to exercise in 
public, and very soon was in great demand as a 
leader in prayer and social meetings. This was 
in 1865. As yet he was not licensed to preach, 
but the more thoughtful and pious with whom he 
worshiped were impressed that the ministry was 
his divinely-appointed field, and often talked 
with him upon the subject. Finally 
Begins k e yielded an d a year later entered 

Ministry . *j ^ 

the active work of a missionary 
itinerant. Both his pulpit and social qualities 
conspired to make him popular, hence the people 
were always glad to hear him preach. Some 
who lived thirty miles distant would attend his 
services. He traveled on horseback, preached 
every night in the w T eek, and three times on Sun- 
day. When appointed by the Kansas Confer- 
ence to Turkey Creek Circuit, he was the only 
regular traveling preacher in Nebraska, and his 
territory embraced the entire State. He had 
thirty appointments. With such a field it is 
easy to see why he was kept on the go inces- 
santly. 

He was preeminently a soul-winner. In the 
pulpit his appeals were tender and convincing; 
but he was not confined to the public congrega- 
tion in his work. He always had a message for 
the individual, whether in field or 
p^i the shop, whether on the public high- 

way or in the home. He would 
sometimes start out eaJrly on the Sabbath and 
walk for miles and miles, inviting the people, and 
especially the indifferent, to come and hear the 

263 



Our Heroes, or 

word. Such a man always wins. God give us 
more like him! His salary as a pastor ranged 
from $37 up to $150. One year it reached $175, 
including a missionary appropriation of $25. 

After a few r years he was elected presiding 
elder. A leading minister, Solomon Weaver, 
of the Kansas Conference, opposed his eleva- 
tion, saying: "Brethren, don't elect him. If 
you do you will spoil a mighty good circuit 
preacher, and make an exceedingly poor presid- 
ing elder." But the good brother was mistaken 
in his man. Mr. Caldwell continued in the office 
some twenty years, serving his conference and 
Church with great acceptability. 

His son, Schuyler, says, in a communication : 
"We boys stayed at home with mother and 
worked to make a living, while father traveled 
all the time. It was three hundred and fifty 
miles around one of his circuits, but he made it 
every three weeks, and got $37 for 
!L on l* the year's work. This was but a 

Testimony J 

fair sample of much of his early 
ministry. Meeting his appointments sometimes 
meant the swimming of swollen streams, and the 
facing of blinding snow-storms, but he never 
complained. Before he left us for heaven he had 
the satisfaction of knowing that three thousand 
souls had been converted and brought into the 
Church through his labors." 

As a preacher he was not broadly informed. 
He had but little time to spend with his library 
at home, yet he was a student. The Bible with 
him was first and foremost. He studied it on 

264 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

horseback, or as he rested by the wayside. 
Sometimes in the home where he chanced to 
tarry, the midnight hour would find him reading 
the old Book by the dim, flickering light of the 
"tallow dip." So, while he did not know much 
about the sciences, he understood the philosophy 
of salvation's plan, and how to win men to 
Christ. 

A few years before his death he asked the 

conference for a rest of twelve months, which 

was cheerfully granted. But he 

could Not could not rest ; he did not know 

Q,uit Work , m , , • , , 

how. To work had become second 
nature with him ; so he made appointments and 
preached nearly as often as if he had been in 
charge of a circuit. When the year was up he 
reported two new classes, and ninety accessions. 
With him it was battle and victory to the very 
last. No mortal ear ever heard him sound a re- 
treat or ever complain of the lot which had be- 
fallen him. His life was one long journey up- 
ward without a halt, or single step backward. 

As a fitting expression of appreciation, and to 
perpetuate his memory in the Church to which 
he gave his life, the East Nebraska Conference 
erected the first temple of worship in Lincoln, 
the capital of the State, engraving thereon 
"Caldwell Memorial." 

SIMEON AUSTIN 

One of the charter members of the East Ne- 
braska Conference was Simeon Austin, who 
settled in York County in 1867, and began to 

265 



Our Heroes, or 

preach in the different neighborhoods in reach 
of him. Though poor in this world's goods, he 
possessed great energy and zeal, and counted it 
a pleasure to suffer hardships for the sake of the 
Church. Haying a faith well grounded in the 
Word, he ever stood ready to defend what he con- 
ceived to be right. He really loved controversy, 
and feared not to cross swords with any foe, no 
matter how giantlike he might appear. 

At the first session of the conference he was 
elected one of the presiding elders, and remained 
Elected i n the position for many years. In 

presiding serving his district he drove a span 

of ponies hitched to an old buggy, 
partly constructed by himself. Thus he traveled 
month by month, sometimes lodging with a 
friend, at other times camping out, using his 
buggy for a shelter, mother earth for a bed, and 
his grip for a pillow. He seemed determined 
that no obstacle should turn him aside from the 
path of duty, or from the achievement of what- 
ever task he sought to accomplish. One example 
will suffice : 

At the close of a certain conference session, 
held in a country church, a few farmers loaded 
the preachers and visitors into their bobsleds and 
started for the railroad station six miles distant. 
The waters were high, the snow deep, and the 
wind blew furiously. When within two miles of 
the depot they encountered a sheet of water and 
ice some twenty rods wide, occasioned by the 
river overflowing its banks. It was too deep to 
drive the sleds through; what was to be done? 

266 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Presiding Elder Austin determined not to miss 

his train. After a brief consultation he said: 

"I am the oldest man in the crowd. 

o^Couragr Wh ° W * U f ° ll0W me? " Alld wlth 

his grip in hand he plunged into 
the icy water. Six others followed. But when 
they reached the station it was found that there 
was no train within forty miles of them headed 
their way. Then what? No conveyance could 
be had of any kind for any price. One of the 
party lived at Blair, twenty-six miles away. 
After another council they determined to walk 
eight miles over the railroad track to the next 
town, where they secured conveyance, and 
reached Blair at ten o'clock that night. How 
grateful they were to get something to eat and 
to find a warm home in which to dry their frozen 
garments. Mr. Austin, during this most trying 
ordeal, remained cheerful and did much to rally 
the spirits of his weary comrades in travel. 

A brother who knew him well and worked long 
at his side, refers to him as one of God's noble 
men — a brave soul who never flinched in the 
presence of duty, nor complained over his lot, no 
matter how hard and trying. At each recurring 
sunset he pitched his tent on higher ground, un- 
til heaven was gained. 

ELIJAH W. JOHNSON 

Another worthy pioneer in Nebraska United 
Brethrenism, and whose name deserves a place 
in the list of heroes recorded in this volume, 
was Elijah W. Johnson. He moved from Illi- 

267 



Our Heroes, or 

nois in 1866, and located in the eastern part of 
the State, where he preached for a time as op- 
portunity was afforded. 

When the conference was organized in 1873, 
he was chosen secretary, and reelected thereafter 
twenty times. In 1875 he was made presiding 
elder. These were hard days for the itinerant 
in a new and sparsely settled ter- 
secretary ritorv, because of the vastness of 

and Elder J ' 

the field and the stinted financial 
support [received. As emigrants crossed the Mis- 
souri River, they located all along the border 
north and south. A fair proportion of these 
were United Brethren. To follow them, and to 
answer all the calls for preaching, meant in- 
creased labor, and extended itineraries. 

Mr. Johnson was a man of indomitable pur- 
pose, and therefore suited to the kind of service 
thrust upon him. With a courage born of faith 
he stood ready to grapple with any problem in 
the line of his work, however great and difficult 
it might appear. The snow-storms which so fre- 
quently swept over the prairies, rendering the 
roads impassable for days, and even for weeks at 
a time, greatly hindered the preachers in mak- 
ing good their appointments, and in holding 
revivals. The presiding elder had his full share 
of difficulties from this source. A single inci- 
dent from his own pen will suffice to show what 
he had to encounter at times : 

"In February of 1877, I held a quarterly meet- 
ing at the union schoolhouse, in Cass County, 
near the present town of Elmwood. Sabbath 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

morning was favorable, and the people came 
from far and near. About eleven o'clock it be- 
gan to snow, and kept on until the storm was 
blinding. The people, after church, all went to 
the nearest neighbors, hoping that 
a Trying ere \ 011 g they could get away to 

Experience & « n * 

their homes; but there was no let 
up in the snowfall for the next twenty-four 
hours. What crowds of us there were in little 
shacks! Where I stopped we numbered seven- 
teen, and only three beds. The brother was out 
of coal, but fortunately had some corn ahead, 
so he sat by the little stove all night, and fed it 
corn. Some slept on chairs, others in the beds, 
while others, still, stretched out upon the floor. 
The building was a primitive homesteader's 
shack of about twelve by fourteen feet, to which 
had been added a kitchen, eight by twelve feet. 
When permitted to go out the next afternoon we 
found the snow-drifts so deep that travel seemed 
impossible. 

"My next quarterly was on Plattsmouth Cir- 
cuit, twenty-five miles distant. Though I was 
eighteen miles from the nearest railroad station, 
I determined not to miss my engagement. After 
waiting two days I found a man who seemed 
compelled to attend court at Plattsmouth, and he 
agreed to give me a place in his bob-sled if I 

would help him through the snow- 
A^ong drifts. Thursday morning we 

started. His wraps were a couple 
of old quilts. On we went, sometimes in the 
road, sometimes through the fields, and ofttimes 

269 



Our Heroes, or 

through or over immense accumulations of snow. 
Sometimes we walked — just anything to get 
along. Finally, in the evening, and after travel- 
ing all day without seeing food or fire, I turned 
aside and found a United Brethren home. I 
could not express my gratitude to God for his 
abounding goodness in leading me that day, and 
in giving me a resting-place for my weary body." 

FARTHER TO THE WEST. 

When it became known that the south central 
portion of the State was exceedingly fertile, and 
promised to become wealthy in time, the people 
migrated thitherward in great numbers. Our 
preachers, with that broad, hopeful spirit which 
almost invariably characterizes the pioneer, 
joined the procession and located on the frontier 
for the purpose of ministering to the spiritual 
needs of the new settlers, and of planting early 
among them the United Brethren Church. 

In 1878 the West Nebraska Conference was 
organized. The handful of workers who consti- 
tuted it were brave — heroic enough 
we«t Nebraska to try to work out f or themselves, 

Organized ^ 7 

with but little outside help, the 
problems of growth and permanency. The men 
in the vanguard suffered as did others who were 
thrust upon the great prairies to battle with 
famine and storm and hostile tribes. Some of 
the fields projected by the new conference em- 
braced two or three counties, or large portions 
thereof, and were traveled afoot by the mission- 
aries assigned to them. 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

In 1879 crops were so short, and food and 
clothing so scarce, that the Missionary Society 
made a general call for help, which was for- 
warded in time to relieve the brethren who were 
so sorely in need. One of the sufferers, writing 
to Secretary Flickinger, said : "Here let me refer 
to the goods and money received 
a Touching; for the missionaries not long ago. 
They have all been distributed. 
What happiness and encouragement they 
brought to us ! What a lighting up of drooping 
spirits! The warming of the little ones in the 
home, and the feeding of the hungry, have been 
the source of many new and holy impulses, and 
led to the forming of many new resolutions to 
do more for the Savior. I can speak only of 
their tears and words of gratitude. They tell of 
emotions which cannot be expressed." 

GEORGE FEMBERS 

When West Nebraska Conference was organ- 
ized there were a good many Germans in its ter- 
ritory, and in some of the Kansas counties 
nearby. George Fembers, being a German by 
birth and education, asked permis- 
Missionary to g j on fo carr y ^he word to his peo- 

Germans ^ * 

pie wherever he might find them in 
the new country. The favor was granted, and 
he at once set about his work with that devout- 
ness and steady purpose so characteristic of his 
race. But the career of the anxious herald in 
this particular field was brief. A cruel death 
was not very far away. 

271 



Our Heroes, or 

A northern tribe of Cheyenne Indians, settled 
by the Government in the early seventies in the 
Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, had grown dis- 
satisfied with their surroundings, 
Trouble with an( j determined to return to their 

Indians . 

old home on the Sioux reservation 
near the Black Hills, in South Dakota. The de- 
serters were led by Chief Dull Knife, and num- 
bered about one hundred and fifty, and two hun- 
dred women and children. For some cause they 
became exasperated and slew, without mercy, 
thirty-two whites in Decatur and Rawlins coun- 
ties, Kansas, as they passed through. Mr. Fem- 
bers was in Rawlins County at the time, and in 
the path of their raid. About daybreak one 
morning they reached the place where he had 
tarried for the night. The man of the house was 

shot down in the yard. The mis- 
siTin ly sionary, hearing the report of their 

guns, and surmising what it meant, 
ran out of the house, but was not allowed to es- 
cape. His dead body was left lying in its own 
blood only a few rods distant, and later was 
buried on the spot by unknown hands. A young 
girl fourteen years old made her escape, with a 
little brother, to a strip of timber near by, where 
she was found by J. G. Martin, a United Breth- 
ren, some days later, almost crazed by hunger 
and excitement. 

Several years after the lone preacher's death, 
his conference had his body exhumed and rein- 
terred in a church cemetery in Redwillow Coun- 
ty, Nebraska, near the home of Mr. J. Mason. 

272 




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CHAPTER XXVI. 

Brave Men in California 

In the early fifties we had a few United Breth- 
ren preachers in California who had gone thither 
to find homes, and, if the way opened, to aid in 
establishing the Church. Among these were 
David Thompson, B. B. Allen, and J. H. May- 
field. California then, as now, was a difficult 
field to cultivate, owing, largely, to social condi- 
tions. The constant moving of United Brethren 
to the coast, however, soon led the Missionary 
Society to undertake the opening of work in the 
"Golden State," as it already had done in the 
State of Oregon. 

ISRAEL, SLOAN 

The first representative sent out by the Board 
was Israel Sloan, formerly a missionary in 
Canada. He sailed from New York in October 
of 1858, and landed safely at San Francisco after 
a voyage of twenty-four days. Having some 
means at command, he volunteered to pay his 
own moving expenses, and during the next four 
years drew largely upon his private resources in 
order to remain in the work. Unlike many 
others who settle in new countries, he gave his 
full time to the ministry. His labors were ex- 
ceedingly fruitful, resulting in the organization 
of a number of classes. Indeed, the outlook was 

273 



Our Heroes, or 

so encouraging that he recommended to the Gen- 
eral Board the formation of a mission confer- 
ence, which was agreed. to, and, accordingly, the 
first session was held in 1861, be- 
work ginning January 16. Mr. Sloan 

was elected Bishop pro tern, and 
conducted, in a regular way, the business of the 
session. The ministers present, besides himself, 
were: D. Troxel, D. Thompson, and J. Dollar- 
hide, of the Iowa Conference. The distribution 
of the workers was as follows : District and Dry 
Creek Mission, Israel Sloan; Yolo and Solano 
missions, J. Dollarhide; Sacramento, D. Thomp- 
son. Thus the California Conference was 
launched with three itinerants, twenty appoint- 
ments, six classes, and seventy-five members. 

The next session was called for September 13, 
1862. Again Mr. Sloan presided. We are in- 
debted to J. H. Becker for the following syn- 
opsis of the proceedings of this conference, and 
for other items which he gathered while on the 
coast and preserved : 

"The second annual conference of the United 
Brethren, of California, met at Sloan's school- 
house, Yolo County, September 13, 1862, Sloan 
in the chair. Brother Dollarhide conducted the 
devotional exercises. 

"Members present: I. Sloan, B. B. Allen, A. 
Musselman, William Wresser, D. Thompson, and 
J. Dollarhide. The organization was completed 
by electing William Dresser secretary. 

"Brother Allen reported Solano Mission as 
having twenty-nine members at the end of the 

274 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

year. He also reported $36.45, presiding elder's 
salary. Time employed, four months. 

"Musselman and Dresser were elected to re- 
ceive elders' orders. The appointed Committee 
on Boundaries brought in their report, which 
was adopted. 

"Dresser reported Yolo Mission as having 
twenty members at the end of the year. Two 
classes were in an organized condition ; one Tel- 
escope was taken, and eleven months had been 
employed. 

"The correction of the itinerant list showed 
the following workers, I. Sloan, A. Musselman, 
J. Doilarhide, and William Dresser. 

"Sloan and Musselman were elected presiding 
elders, Sloan being appointed to Humboldt and 
Musselman to Sacramento Valley District. 

"On motion, each preacher, whether traveling 
or local, was to preach a sermon on missions dur- 
ing the y ear, and use every laudable means to ob- 
tain missionary money. Also, to establish Sab- 
bath schools. Brother Allen was appointed to 
preach a missionary sermon during the confer- 
ence session. 

"The Committee to station the preachers con- 
sisted of three, namely, Musselman, Allen, and 
Sloan, the Bishop pro tern. 

"By motion, the Book Concern was requested 
to donate $400 in Hymn-books, Disciplines, and 
Harps (a revival song-book). 

"The place of holding the next conference was 
left to the presiding elders. Conference then ad- 
journed. 

275 



Our Heroes, or 

"Bevs. Alexander, Musselman, and William 
Dresser were solemnly ordained to the office of 
elder after the morning sermon on Sabbath, Sep- 
tember 14, by the Bishop pro tern., assisted by 
Bevs. J. Dollarhide and B. B. Allen." 

Mr. Sloan was appointed to a distant charge. 
In a letter to the Telescope shortly after confer- 
ence, he said, "It falls to my lot to go to Hum- 
boldt Bay, a distance of three hundred and forty 
miles from Sacramento across the Coast Bange 
Mountains." He might have sent some one else 
to this far-off mission, and himself remained 
where the work would have been less vexing, and 
the surroundings more congenial, but it was not 
like the hero to do so. He chose for himself the 
hardest field. 

The moving of his family and goods was a 
great undertaking in view of the mountains to 
be crossed, and the lack of trans- 
Long, Banker- por tation facilities. Mrs. Sloan de- 

ous Move x 

scribes the journey most graphic- 
ally in a recent communication: "We shipped 
our goods by steamer to Humboldt, and ourselves 
went over the mountains. The trip was hard and 
dangerous. When we struck the mountains 
proper the wagon-road ran out, and the balance 
of the way, one hundred and fifty miles, had to 
be made on horseback, with dangers besetting us 
on every hand. The Indians were on the war- 
path and doing their most bloody work. We 
found that an escort of armed men was neces- 
sary, which it took some time to provide for. 
During the entire journey we had been camping 

276 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

out, cooking our meals, and sleeping on the 
ground. While trying to arrange for the guard 
that was to accompany us, our children took 
down with the measles. Then we tried hard to 
get shelter, but no one was willing to take in a 
family of five, and measles added. The October 
rains had set in, and we were in despair. The 
two youngest children we feared 
cwidren would not recover. About ten 

Sick . 

o'clock one morning our nearest 
neighbor, a quarter of a mile distant, came over 
to see how we were doing. He was a Virginian, 
and very hospitable. When he saw how bad the 
children were, he gathered the oldest in his 
strong arms, asked us to follow with the others, 
and led the way to his house. Upon reaching his 
door he said to his wife: 'Mother, these children 
would have died out there, and could we ever 
have forgiven ourselves? Pull out the trundle- 
bed.' So he installed himself nurse, and kept 
watch day and night until they were better. The 
'mother' of the house was very much upset for 
a day or two, but after that we became fast 
friends, and in the years that followed we always 
found a hearty welcome with father and mother 
Burns. Since then I have crossed over this same 
mountain trail twenty-six times, the last three 
with teams." 

The next summer Mr. Sloan received word 
that the work in the Sacramento Valley was not 
in a prosperous condition, and decided to spend 
a few weeks on his former field, hoping thereby 
to encourage the brethren, and, if possible, to re- 

277 



Our Heroes, or 

trieve any losses that had been sustained. On 
the twenty-third of June he started upon his long 
journey. Everything went well until he started 
down the Cache Creek Mountains. At a very 
steep, narrow place, his pony became unmanage- 
able and ran away, throwing him violently to the 

ground. Some one living two and 
Mortaiiy a j m jf m ii es distant found him in 

an unconscious condition, and took 
him to his house on a sled draw^n by oxen. Later, 
he was removed to the residence of Nelson Dun- 
ning. It was several days before he could give 
an intelligent account of the accident. 

What a distressing situation! One hundred 
and eighty-five miles from his family, and mor- 
tally hurt. Weeks passed by, but his faithful 
wife heard nothing from him. She became uneasy 
and impatient. Something was wrong, she felt, 
but knew not what. The clatter of horses' feet, 
or the sound of a neighbor's footfall, awakened 
mingled feelings of hope and fear. Finally, she 
received a letter from him stating that he would 
soon be home; but he did not come. It is next 
to impossible for those of us who live under bet- 
ter and more favorable conditions to appreciate 
the situation of this poor woman. 

After several long weeks Mr. Sloan was placed 
on a steamer bound for Humboldt Bay. The 

voyage was rough and the entire 
Home crew was endangered by a heavy 

Voyage. © - ■/ J 

coast storm. The captain thought 
several times that Mr. Sloan was dying, and 
asked him for his last message to his family and 

278 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

church, but the man of faith said : "No, we shall 
land safely, and I shall be spared to give my 
parting words. This is my last request of my 
Heavenly Father, and I am sure he will not fail 
me." The captain testified that he had never be- 
fore witnessed such submission and faith in God. 
The vessel landed August 30, and just twenty- 
four hours afterward he died. 

Immediately upon his arrival at Humboldt 
Bay a messenger was despatched for his wife, 
who brought her to his bedside by four o'clock 
the next morning. The meeting was affectionate, 
and the closing hours of his life, which followed, 
were filled with deepest interest. 

Let his faithful helper in the Lord tell the 
story. Memories of the occasion tarry with her 
to this day, and no doubt will be revived when 
she meets and greets him in heaven. "I found 
him," she says, "sweetly waiting and trusting. 
He said, 'I knew you would corrie.' He first gave 
full directions about our children, and then 
talked over the work of the Church, saying : "All 
my spiritual interests I leave in your care 
through the Church. If you can use any argu- 
ment to get some one to come and take full 
charge of the work, do so.' Then he 
Triumphant said . <D on > t weep, but sing. I 

thought death would be a cold, tur- 
bulent stream, but if this is death, it is sweet to 
die. Sing.' There were two strange women in the 
room, and turning to them in the midst of my 
weeping, I asked them to sing, but they could not. 
Again my husband said, 'Don't weep, but sing.' I 

279 



Our Heroes, or 

asked, 'What shall I sing?' He replied, 'On Jor- 
dan's stormy banks I stand/ lining the entire 
hymn of eight stanzas, two lines at a time, as was 
the custom then. Kneeling at his side, I sang it 
all but the last two lines. Before reaching these 
his spirit took its flight." 

The following appeared in a local newspaper 
immediately after the funeral : 

"Rev. Mr. Sloan went below some few months 
since, and his long delay caused alarm to his 
family, consisting of wife and three children. 

"On the 30th day of August he came on the 
steamer, sick and apparently near to death. He 
was carried to William's Hotel, from whence he 
sent for the undersigned, who immediately sent 
for his wife, who arrived the morning of the 31st, 
at four o'clock. After the arrival of his wife, 
his mind was most of the time incoherent, but he 
enjoyed lucid intervals, during which he con- 
versed with her, and bade adieu to friends, and 
expressed a willingness "to depart and to be 
with Christ, which is far better." 

"Several of his friends from Eel Elver and 
members from his Church, were prompt in com- 
ing to his assistance, and conveyed his remains 
to Eel River for burial. 

"Peace to the memory of a good man and a 
faithful servant of Christ! Blessings upon his 
afflicted widow and fatherless children! Truly, 
the community that shall favor them in their 
afflictions shall inherit a blessing. 

"A. J. Huestis. 

"Eureka, September 4, 1863/' 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

An aged minister of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, who knew Mr. Sloan intimately, de- 
scribes him thus : "He was a tall man of about 
forty-five years. As a preacher he was strong, 
and attracted the people to him. Being deeply 
pious, and spiritual, he left his impress on men 
wherever he met them. He was 
a Beautiful zealous, and devoted all his time to 

Tribute 

ministerial work. In a few short 
years he had planted nearly a score of classes 
in the farming sections of the State. He was a 
self-denying man, deserving a much better sup- 
port than he received, but I never heard him utter 
a word of complaint. He lived like a hero, and 
died like a saint." 

How true that all the martyrs were not 
burned at the stake, nor put to death by the 
vengeful sword. In the life and labors of this 
godly man we see something of what it cost to 
plant the Church in California, thus giving it a 
part in bringing to God a country so rich in its 
resources and possibilities. 



281 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Brave Men in California, — Continued. 

It is a delight to trace the records of men who, 
in the long ago, consented to do pioneer work, 
and counted it a joy to suffer the hardships in- 
cident to such a life. How such characters 
stand out in contrast with those ministers of 
to-day who shirk difficult fields, and demand the 
very best the Church has to give ! We are some- 
times led to wonder whether such men are in 
the pulpit from a sense of duty or from motives 
purely selfish. The ministry means nothing if 
we divest it of the element of heroism. There is 
a certain kind of daring, a chivalrous spirit 
which attaches to the high and holy calling, and 
is displayed in all the plans and public minis- 
trations of a true gospel herald. Service with 
him comes before salary. 

DANIEL SHUCK 

The annals of the Church present but few 
names, if any, more illustrious than that of 
Daniel Shuck. His pioneer labors were not 

confined to one conference, but ex- 
a Great tended to various portions of the 

Church, and covered a period of 
thirty-five years or more. Modest in disposition, 
massive in intellect, strong in character, unflag- 
ging in zeal, dauntless in courage, and holy in 
life, he presents a model worthy of emulation by 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

every young preacher who seeks a place and part 
in the special yv r ork of soul-winning. 

Mr. Shuck was born in Harrison County, Indi- 
ana, January 16, 1827. At the age of fifteen he 
was converted, and at once took up the duty of 
family prayer in his father's house. When he 
was seventeen he began to preach, and was 

placed on a circuit by the presiding 
His Early elder under an experienced pastor, 

and soon thereafter joined the Indi- 
ana Conference. In one of his memorandum- 
books he tells the story of his ministerial career, 
in outline, from 1844 to 1860. Here it is as he 
jotted it down : 

"In March, 1844, I joined the conference in 
Franklin Chapel, Union County, Indiana. Trav- 
eled Corydon Circuit three months, and Wash- 
ington nine months. Received $70. In 1845, six 
months on Liberty Circuit. $60. In the fall of 
1845 I went to the State University at Bloom- 
ington, where I continued until September, 1846. 
Then I taught school three months in George- 
town, Indiana. January, 1847, I was sent to 
Laughery, and traveled one year. Received $80. 
In January, 1848, I was returned and traveled 
until September. Received $87. The year 1848- 
49 stationed at Zion Chapel. Salary $80.54. 
New Albany mission, 1849-50. Received $60.67. 
Returned for another year. Salary $99.36. 
Again sent back. Received $102.97. During the 
year 1852-53 I presided over the whole confer- 
ence which then embraced the work in Kentucky. 
$177.65. The next year was returned to New 

283 



Our Heroes, or 

Albany. Salary received, $128.25. Again trav- 
eled New Albany, and remained until March, 
when I was elected agent of Hartsville Univer- 
sity in which position I labored until the fall of 
1856. Received as salary for the two years, $400, 
The year 1856-57 I spent at Hartsville school as 
an assistant. Received $100. For the year 1857- 
58 I had charge of Newburn Circuit and Harts- 
ville Station. Received from both works, $280. 
In September, 1858, I was sent to Missouri as 
a missionary. Remained until 1859. Received 
$350. From September, 1859 to 1860 I presided 
over the East District of Indiana Conference. 
Received $216." 

This brief summary of service, reaching over 
a period of sixteen years, might easily be ex- 
panded into a volume if we but knew the un- 
written history of those years — the labors and 
privations, the battles and triumphs which came 
to the life of the young hero — making it so val- 
uable to the Church he served. 

Mr. Shuck was sent by the Mission Board to 

southern Missouri late in 1858. The Church 

there, owing to the slavery agita- 

Mi® S ionary tion? an( j ther hindrances, had 

made but little progress. He 
reached the field in time to attend the fifth ses- 
sion of the conference, which met October first, 
at the residence of Jacob Coblentz, a local 
preacher. The active ministers present were W. 
B. Southard, A. P. Floyed, Bishop Edwards, and 
himself. As the early minutes of the conference 
have been lost, and as there exists some confu- 

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United Brethren Home Missionaries 

sion as to the first meetings of this body, this 
item taken from Mr. Shuck's diary, which was 
written at the time, may prove of historic value, 
since it gives us a glimpse of the work in these 
dark days which no other records seem to fur- 
nish. Mr. Shuck was elected presiding elder, 
and also given Saint Aubert Circuit. The year 

was fraught with hardships and 
First perils. His first quarterly meet- 

mg was on the Ozark Mission. As 
he made notes along the way, it might be well 
to let his diary tell the story. No one will ques- 
tion its correctness : 

"Monday, November 22. Though the morning 
was disagreeable, six inches of snow having fal- 
len during the night, I started to the first quar- 
terly meeting on the Ozark Mission. Beached 
Jefferson City a little after noon, where I got 
my horse shod, and then journeyed on thirteen 
miles. Tarried all night with a member of the 
church. The next morning I paid my 



bill, one dollar, and continued my journey. 
About two o'clock it turned quite cold. While 
I was going through a prairie I was sorely 
tempted to turn back. The roads were so bad, 
the distance still so great, the probability that 
I could not reach the place in good season, and 
that bad weather would prevent a good attend- 
ance at the meeting, were reasons so clear to my 
mind that I actually turned back and traveled a 
short distance three times. But when I consid- 
ered the weakness of the brethren in number, the 
many discouragements under which they had 

285 



Our Heroes, or 

labored, the great need of affording them aid, 
and the advantages which might be taken of my 
absence, I concluded to go on. The wind blew 
and blew and continued to blow. 
a Long JIo^Y I shivered ! but on I went to 

Trip 

Versailles. The morning of the 
24th was clear. Old Sol arose in brightness and 
glory. Continued my journey. Traveled for the 
day thirty-eight miles, and put up with a Mr. 
Davis. Next day I traveled thirty-eight miles 
and lodged at a tavern in Boliver. The 26th con- 
tinued my journey. About one o'clock it began 
to rain, but I dared not stop. Put up at night 
three miles from Greenfield. The 27th found me 
still going. At half-past one o'clock I reached 
Brother J. Terrell's — the place of holding the 
meeting." 

So to hold a quarterly meeting this missionary 
traveled from Monday morning until Saturday 
afternoon through snow and mud and storm — a 
distance, probably, of two hundred miles. This 
put him in the extreme south western part of the 
State. What the financial compensation was for 
this trip, and all the work connected therewith, 
he does not tell us ; but he does mention another 
instance where he made a long journey at a cost 
of $15, and received only $5 for his services. 

Because of his anti-slavery opinions he was 

closely watched, and his utterances noted. At 

one time a certain vigilance com- 

*f fe in mittee at a secret meeting had his 

Danger ° 

name under consideration, and it 
was proposed by a leading layman of another- 

286 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

church to give him so many days in which to 
leave the State; but an outsider by the name of 
Moore, who had heard him preach, opposed such 
action on the ground that Mr. Shuck was a, good 
preacher and Christian gentleman. The resolu- 
tion was defeated. 

Mr. Shuck's travels were so incessant, and the 
work entailed so strenuous, that his health gave 
way, which made it necessary for him to resign 
at the end of the year, and return to his old con- 
ference. But the Church soon laid its hands 
upon him for mission work in another field. 

As has already been stated, the work about 
this time in California and Oregon seemed to 
justify the sending of a man there to superin- 
tend it; accordingly the General Conference of 
1861 elected him Bishop for the coast ; but owing 
to the excitement and uncertainties 
Elected Bishop caused by the Civil War, he did not 

for Coast ^ 7 

get away until midwinter in 1864. 
The voyage from New York, which began Feb- 
ruary 3, lasted thirty-five days. His arrival in 
the far-away land was an occasion of great joy. 
The death of Israel Sloan, an acknowl- 
edged leader, had greatly disheartened our peo- 
ple and preachers in California, and many 
doubted whether the work could be longer sus- 
tained. Touching the coming of the Bishop, 
C. W. Gillett, a worthy preacher of the confer- 
ence, made the following entry in his journal : 
"The Harrow Brothers were the only ones in the 
ministry who were doing anything at all for the 
cause, consequently when the Bishop arrived the 

287 



Our Heroes, or 

Church was almost in an unorganized state. But 
a change was soon visible. Letters were written 
from friend to friend, 'The Bishop has come/ 
Those who had been predicting the certain death 
of the Church, changed their opinion, while the 
true friends of the cause rejoiced, and deserters 
felt like returning to their former allegiance." 

At the conference which convened the 11th of 
the following November, the membership in Cal- 
ifornia was reported at one hundred and fifty- 
one. Six fields of labor were supplied, and one 
left without a pastor. Here, as elsewhere, the 
Bishop was almost constantly visiting the local 
churches, counseling with the preachers, show- 
ing them what and how to do, and encouraging 
the laity to be faithful and loyal to the Church. 

On the 26th of July he and his wife started in 
a private conveyance for Oregon. Two other 
families accompanied them. They traveled dur- 
From ing the day and camped out beneath 

California the clouds or star-lit dome at night. 

They were ten weeks on the way, 
stopping each Sabbath to fill appointments" 
previously arranged. At the end of the fourth 
week he spent four days at a camp-meeting near 
Oakland, Oregon. When he left, the meeting 
closed. On Thursday morning, August 23, they 
all met about the altar in the tabernacle for a 
final handshake and farewell. In referring to it 
Mr. Shuck says: "There was a deep feeling. 
After we had taken the parting hand the whole 
audience was stirred. A poor backslider talked. 
The interest grew, and we could not close. 

288 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Eleven joined the Church, and as many were 
converted." This was pretty good for a closing 
service on a week-day morning. During the 
camp thirty-one united with the Church. 

On Thursday, September 29, the Oregon Con- 
ference met in Polk County, near Salem, the cap- 
ital of the State. The attendance was small, 
only nine ministers being present. 
hows ^ £j ie c i ose f the session he turned 

Conference . . . . 

his face homeward, visiting on his 
return some charges missed on his way to con- 
ference. This trip gave him a thorough knowl- 
edge of the work in Oregon, as he preached on 
nearly every field in the conference district. 

It required twenty-nine days to make the trip 
back to California. All went well during most 
of the journey. On the fifth day, however, be- 
fore reaching home, late in the evening, he was 
attacked by two robbers. The following is his 
account of it : 

"On the 27th of October, 1864, we were at- 
tacked by two highway robbers who met us in 
the way. As we were moving along slowly, one of 
them seized my right hand, at the same time pre- 
senting his revolver at my breast 
Tw© b M bT anc * demanding my money or my 
life. I gave him what money I had 
in my pocket ; then he demanded my revolver. I 
informed him that I did not carry one. After he 
searched me and satisfied himself that I had told 
the truth, he ordered me out of the buggy, tied 
my arms with a rope, and ordered me forward to 
the side of my horse. The other man then led 

289 



Our Heroes, or 

the horse about one hundred yards from the road 
into a basin. The one in charge of me all the 
time held his revolver near my breast. When at 
a safe distance from the road, my wife was taken 
out of the buggy and thoroughly searched for 
money. Then the trunk was broken open and 
all the good clothes taken out of it. The satchels 
were also robbed of whatever was considered 
valuable. My gold watch and pocket-knife were 
taken. In all, they robbed us of more than $100. 
Then they loosed my arms, ordered us into the 
buggy, and with an oath told us to drive toward 
Oroville. With the Butte Mountains to guide us 
in our course, we soon rounded into the main 
road again, and between nine and ten o'clock we 
ax-rived at Father Boulware's where we received 
a hearty welcome. Sixty miles' travel this day, 
robbed of all our good clothing and money, ex- 
cept five dollars, a greenback worth two dollars, 
closed a tour of more than 1,500 miles in my own 
conveyance in wearisome journeyings and ardu- 
ous official and ministerial labors in the cause 
of the Master. Thanks be to God for his sustain- 
ing grace." 

When the Cascade (now Columbia River) 

Conference was organized in 1865, his field was 

enlarged by several hundred miles. He even 

served as presiding elder in the 

serves as new conference a part of one year, 

Presiding Elder . L . . 

that he might add to its ministerial 
force, and thus make its growth more certain 
and rapid. During his superintendency of the 
coast work, from 1864 to 1869, his salary aver- 

290 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

aged, yearly, $608.50. What an unselfish life 
was his ! Away from kindred and friends of his 

youth, in peril among savages and 
Royai service highwaymen, at times not having 

even the ordinary comforts of life 
— all for the sake of Jesus Christ and the Church 
he loved. Angels smile when such a picture 
passes before them. 

On the second of November, 1900, this royal 
knight of the Cross fought and won his last bat- 
tle, and then, sheathing his sword, and putting 
aside the insignia of war, he took up the victor's 
crown to wear it forever. 

"Thy saints in all this glorious war, 
Shall conquer though they die; 
They see the triumph from afar, 
By faith they bring it nigh." 



291 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Pioneer Work in Oregon. 

Pioneer work in Oregon has continued from 
its earliest settlement down to the present time. 
As emigrants pushed their way farther and 
farther back into the valleys and mountains, 
gospel messengers accompanied them, or soon 
followed, organizing Sunday schools and reli- 
gious societies, and in various ways made them- 
selves useful in building up communities of 
sterling character and worth. Some of the pas- 
tors there to-day manifest by their faith and toil 
just as much chivalry as did the fathers who 
crossed the Rockies a half-century ago. 

J. KENOYER 

In 1853, the year the Missionary Society was 
organized, J. Kenoyer, of Indiana, with a 
number of families, crossed the plains and moun- 
tains into Oregon. What the colony possessed 
of earthly goods was conveyed in wagons. The 
journey was long and exhausting. A false guide 
led them far out of the way, which caused many 
weeks of unnecessary travel, a part 
a jouraey of f ^ e time over a trail which no 

Many Months 

white man's foot seemed ever to 
have pressed. The starvation point was so 
nearly reached by a part of the company, that 
they actually ate the bacon rinds which they 
had saved for use in manufacturing soap when 
they should reach their destination. Occasion- 

292 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

ally they bought salmon of Indian traders, but 
it was old and musty. Then their flour gave out, 
and for months, even after* they had got settled, 
there was not a dust in their poverty-stricken 
homes. This is the testimony of one of the com- 
pany yet living. 

Though the trip was undertaken in March, it 
was December before the Willamette Valley, 
their objective point, was finally reached by all 
the colonists. We have no means of ascertaining 
what these chevaliers received by way of sup- 
port for the first year, though something was 
furnished by the White River and Scioto con- 
ferences, but it is evident that they did much 
preaching. By the time the Board met the fol- 
lowing June, a quarterly conference had been 
organized, and progress reported. 

While the General Society made appropri- 
ations from year to year, as its depleted treas- 
ury would permit, the salaries of the missionaries 
w x ere so inadequate that they were compelled to 
engage in secular work at times to keep soul 
and body together. Mr. Kenoyer 
Hard Times was ^q^^ to make rails at one 
dollar per hundred, and at the 
same time pay ten dollars per hundred for flour, 
in order to provide for a family of seven. For 
many years he gave the best of his time and 
strength to the work in western Oregon, seeking 
out new appointments, holding camp-meetings, 
and caring for the churches. By the time the 
conference was organized others had come in to 
strengthen the forces, and to share the respon- 

293 



Our Heroes, or 

sibilities and hardships of the new field. Prom- 
inent among these was J. Harriett who wrought 
nobly in the beginning of the work. 

When the Cascade (now Columbia River) 
Conference was organized in 1865, Mr. Kenoyer 
was present and elected as its first presiding 
elder, which enabled the preachers and people 
to enjoy the benefits of his pulpit ministrations, 
and ripe experience in pioneer work. J. J. 
Gallaher tells of meeting the old hero late one 
evening near where the town of Foster now 
stands, on the Umatilla River. He was afoot, 
with saddle-bags across his shoulder. When 
asked where he was going at such an hour, he 
replied, "To the camp-meeting up in the Walla 
Walla Valley, and I thought I 
Excessive would rather travel at night as it 

Privations . . __ ° 

is so much cooler." He had al- 
ready walked a long distance, and now, having 
rested a day or two, was starting out upon an- 
other eighty-mile jaunt. As he would have to 
journey half this distance before seeing a resi- 
dence, he was further asked where he would stop 
to rest. "When I get too tired to go any 
farther," he said, "I will lie down under the sage- 
brush and take a nap." 

This illustrates what itinerating meant on the 
coast fifty years ago. Others besides Mr. Ken- 
oyer were subjected to the same hardships and 
dangers, and perhaps as willingly made that self- 
surrender to the work of God which the exigen- 
cies of the hour demanded. To just such lives 
the Church owes its success. 

294 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Mr. Kenoyer was a pulpiteer of marked abil- 
ity. Though not a college man, he was a close 
and constant student of men and books, and 
knew how to utilize what he read. His fame 
spread far and wide. Soon after reaching Ore- 
gon he spent a Sabbath on a Methodist camp- 
ground. The meeting was in charge of T. 
H. Pern, a presiding elder. When 
At Methodist told that Kenoyer, of the United 

Camp-Meeting ^ 7 

Brethren Church, was in the audi- 
ence, he requested him to come into the pulpit 
and close the service. The preacher in home- 
spun, however, preferred to sit at the root of a 
tree some distance away, where he could look the 
speaker in the face; but promised to come for- 
ward at the proper time and take the meeting 
in hand. The sermon was eloquent and convin- 
cing. When Mr. Kenoyer arose every eye was 
upon him. He was in the very prime of a well- 
developed manhood, straight as an Indian, with 
coal-black hair hanging well down around his 
neck and shoulders. His suit was threadbare 
from long usage. Finally, he began, and as he 
warmed up in his exhortation he poured forth 
such a torrent of argument and pleading and 
warning that the people were overwhelmed. 
The presiding elder shouted "Amen," saints 

clapped their hands for joy, while 
E^ortatton sinners wept and cried to Heaven 

for mercy. At last he leaped out 
of the pulpit onto the ground, still inviting the 
unsaved to come about the altar in quest of sal- 
vation. It was a thrilling moment and one of 

295 



Oar Heroes, or 

victory, for that morning forty persons bowed in 
prayer at the sacred place. 

How some of these veterans could preach! 
Their commission and message were divine. 
"Thus saith the Lord" was the basis of every 
sermon. It is not strange, then, that preaching 
with such a genesis should end in an apocalypse 
of Jesus Christ — a vision of him crucified, risen, 
and glorified. 

At this early period there were no railroads in 
Oregon, and but few were able to afford a car- 
riage. Preachers did not fall in this class. Some 
traveled on horseback; others walked. It was 
no uncommon thing to meet a gospel herald with 
an ax on his shoulder, not as a weapon of de- 
fense, but carried for the purpose 
crossing f felling trees across sw T ollen 

Streams ° 

streams on which he might pass 
over. If no tree could be found, he would wade 
or swim and, after landing safely, build a fire 
under a fir tree and camp for the night, or long 
enough to dry his clothing. 

No wonder such men enjoyed preaching the 
word w T hen opportunity was presented; and no 
wonder the people loved them, and were charmed 

by their rugged eloquence. They 
th^work were supremely happy. No glory 

equaled that of the Cross. Occa- 
sionally they came down to bread and water, but 
they ate and drank with cheerfulness. They 
could say, "All this — and Christ," as did the old 
lady when she held up before Bishop Burnett a 
crust of bread. 

296 



United Brethren Home Missionaries , 

"No foot of land do I possess, 
No cottage in this wilderness," 

made music when sung by tliese veterans in serv- 
ice. Yes, music which awoke echoes amid moun- 
tain fastness, or, like an iEolian Harp, broke 
the silence of the plains, and charmed the lone 
traveler in search of a resting-place. 

Happy are they who can chisel out of circum- 
stances, made adverse by poverty and affliction, 
monuments as enduring as immortality itself. 

It is deserving of mention here that the Ore- 
gon Conference received no help whatever from 
the General Board from 1865 to 1873— a fact 
which greatly complicated and hindered its work 
and threatened its very existence. 

C. C. BELL, 

It was on the seventh of December, 1882, that 
C. C. Bell reached Philomath, Oregon, wet 
and muddy, having walked six miles from Cor- 
vallis through rain and mud and pitch darkness. 
He had journeyed all the way from his Indiana 
home for the purpose of entering the ministry of 
Oregon Conference, and of aiding to the fullest 
extent possible in laying broader and deeper the 
foundations of the Church in the coast regions. 
As if to break in the newcomer, the elder ap- 
pointed him pastor of Philomath 
Early Circuit. Though the charge was a 

Experiences , ° ° 

hundred miles long, it did not con- 
tain a United Brethren, or a house of worship 
of any description. Before the year closed, how- 
ever, conditions had changed. A number of re- 

297 



Our Heroes, or 

vivais were held, and three classes organized. 
His cash compensation was seven dollars. 

His second year was spent near Oregon City. 
Having no means of conveyance, he traveled the 
charge on foot, walking usually twenty miles on 
Sunday, preaching twice and holding two class- 
meetings. Not having time to stop with any one 
for dinner, he carried his own lunch with him, 
which he ate as he hurried from one point to an- 
other. His wife also did much 
wife walks walking in her endeavor to assist 
the inexperienced itinerant. Dur- 
ing one of his meetings she walked four miles 
every night for two weeks, and every night it 
rained. For this year's service, including do- 
nations, they received $76.85. Small pay, to be 
sure; but on the other hand they had some 
blessed experiences which were of more value to 
them than gold. At times they did not have 
enough money to buy a postage-stamp ; but they 
lived. 

Mr. BelFs next field was Vancouver, in Wash- 
ington. "On this charge/' he writes, "we were 
blessed with great revivals, and over a hundred 
accessions to the Church, yet our support was 
very meager. At one time we had eaten all the 
food in the house, and being shut in by one of 
the heaviest snows and sleets the 
and Fuel" 011 country had ever known, and hav- 
ing burned all the wood we could 
find, we were compelled to seek shelter else- 
where. Putting Mrs. Bell on our pony, I led the 
way, breaking the heavy snow-crust, and so we 

298 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

made a trip of six miles to a Methodist home, 
where we were cared for over night. The fol- 
lowing day we went two miles farther to some 
of our own members where we remained nearly 
a month." 

During his first five years in Oregon his sup- 
port, including the small missionary appropri- 
ations, did not aggregate more than $600. In all 
these years he did not live once in a parsonage, 
or own a horse and buggy. All he could claim, 
and that only a part of the time, was a pony and 
a cart. 

"When presiding elder," he says, "I found the 

work difficult and exhausting. The district was 

over five hundred miles long. Some 

a presiding f ^ e ^ r jp S f£ f r0 m the railroad 

Elder 

were as follows : From Sheridan to 
Tillamook, sixty miles ; to Tigh from The Dalles, 
forty miles ; from Roseburg to Marshfield, eighty- 
five miles; from Melford to Waldo, forty miles. 
The hardest trips were those to Marshfield and 
Tillamook, which involved the crossing of the 
Coast Eange Mountains. No one unaccustomed 
to these mountains can know what it is to cross 
them in winter time." 

In his earlier experiences he recalls a memor- 
able night which was spent all alone and away 

from human habitations. He says : 

Nignt m ° rable " Tt was a lonel J night, with the 
roaring, lashing waves of the Pa- 
cific on one side, and the wilds of the coast land 
on the other. Several times during the night I 
had to pull off my shoes, roll up my trousers, 

299 



Our Heroes, or 

and wade the streams which cross the beach into 
the ocean. At four o'clock in the morning I fell 
in company with a man, and twice took him on 
my back and carried him across the creeks." 

Mr. Bell kept a record of the more than three 

hundred quarterly meetings he held during the 

years of his eldership. Here are a few items 

which show what his men under- 

how pastors y^ent in order to serve their charg- 

Fared ° 

es, and thus help on the work of 
the conference: "Roseburg Mission — J. L. Tay- 
lor, pastor; members, twenty-four; appropri- 
ation, $60 for the year. Salary — first quarter, 
|4.79 ; second quarter, f 6.28 ; third quarter $9.87 ; 
fourth quarter, $31.21. Irving Circuit — F. H. 
Neff, pastor; members, one hundred and five. 
Salary — first quarter, $18.98; second quarter, 
$34.20; third quarter, $53.64; fourth quarter, 
$90.68." Though this pastor had a large family 
to provide for, and in point of ability was able 
to fill any pulpit in the Church, yet his pay in 
dollars and cents up to and including the last 
quarterly only amounted to $197.50. 

Here follows a college and seminary graduate 
of character and ability. "Philomath Station — 
B. E. Emerick, pastor. Salary — first quarter, 
$27.64; second quarter, $74.45; third quarter, 
$43. 39; fourth quarter, $59.88. No appropria- 
tion." 

The foregoing fields fairly represent the sup- 
port obtained by our workers in Oregon only a 
few years ago, and which is but little, if any 
better at present with many of them. 

300 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

The presiding elder's report in 1900 shows 
that the office did not have much in it except 
hard work, and a growing responsibility. Here 
it is: "Quarterlies held, sixty-five; sermons 
preached, one hundred and forty; salary re- 
ceived, $646; miles traveled, 13,800; traveling 
expenses, $153.50; stationery and rent, $95; net 
salary, $397.50." 

Bishop N. Castle, in a communication to the 

Missionary Board in 1883, makes the following 

touching statement respecting the 

Bishop castie^ coast work . "Ministers are turn- 

Testimony 

ing aside year after year to some 
secular calling in order to supplement a deficient 
salary. We have sustained losses the past year, 
and anticipate losses the coming year from the 
same cause. There is something stern in these 
necessities. All one has to do to test it is to 
come down to the same plane with these men. 
It is not a salary of $1,000 that they ask, but 
simply for food and clothing. Are they not 
worthy of this? How the hearts of these lone 
missionaries are touched and stirred as they look 
out upon the awful destitution to be seen on 
every hand — a destitution both spiritual and 
financial." 

A veteran's testimony 

An old warrior writing from Oregon declares 
that none on the coast has suffered more than 
those who have stood identified with Philomath 
College. "These men," he says, "were able to 
fill lucrative positions, in or out of the Church, 

301 



Our Heroes, or 

but did not seek them. Though their salaries 
ranged only from f 350 to f 500 a year, they stood 
true to the educational, and other vital interests 
of the denomination on the Pacific coast. Are 
not such heroes worthy of the highest praise and 
appreciation the Church can give? 

"Among the many faithful, devoted men with 
whom I have served, I must mention H. S. 
Epperly. He was an intimate friend of Mark 

Twain's, when engaged in news- 
a Nobie Hero p aper WO rk in Nevada. In natural 

intellect and wit he was not far be- 
hind the famous humorist. His life was mostly 
spent in sin, not being converted until fifty-five 
years of age. When saved he did not confer 
with 'flesh and blood/ but at once placed his 
property on God's altar, and used it to sustain 
the work until all was consumed. Soon after 
entering upon the 'new life/ he left his home in 
northern Idaho, and, with his wife, drove a team 
five hundred miles over rough mountain roads 
to Myrtle Point, Oregon, where he had a number 
of relatives and friends whom he wished to lead 
to his new-found Savior. His mission was a 
glorious success. Not only were the special ob- 
jects of his concern saved, but nearly all the com- 
munity as well, and brought into the Church. 
Our entire work in Coquelle and Coos counties 
is largely due to this man's self-sacrificing min- 
istry. 

"After a few years he went to Waldo, a rich 
mining district, where he had other friends in 
whom he was particularly interested. Here also 

302 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

he had great revivals and organized two church- 
es. From this field he made his last trip to con- 
How He ference, traveling over five hun- 
Reacked dred miles in private conveyance. 
The poor man was too sick much 
of the time to care for his team, or to drive it, 
but his faithful wife was always at his side, and 
proved equal to every task. She not only looked 
after his horse and buggy, but preached for him 
when he was unable to fill his engagements. 

"My last visit with the dear brother was in 
his little parsonage, a board shack, by the side 
of a miner's ditch forty miles from any railroad. 
He was then nearing the end, but was happy in 
the thought that he would soon exchange his 
humble home for '& mansion in the skies.- " And 
so he died. He could sing, 

"Let me go, for bliss eternal 

Lures my soul away, away; 
And the victor's song triumphant 
Thrills my heart — I cannot stay." 



303 



LESSON VII. 



Chapter XXV. 

1. Give brief history of early work in Nebraska. 

2. Outline the life of W. P. Caldwell, his methods of work, 
revivals, salary, service as presiding elder, etc. 

3. Can you recall his son's testimony? 

4. How did the conference honor him at last? 

5. Tell the story of S. Austin. 

6. Also of E. W. Johnson. 

7. Did the Church move westward? Tell about it. 

8. Did the missionaries suffer? 

9. What have you to say of George Fembers, his work and 
death at the hands of Indians? Describe the last scene. 



Chapter XXVI. 

1. Who was the first missionary to California, and when did 
he go? 

2. When was the first conference held, and what the outlook? 

3. How far did Missionary Sloan have to move, and what 
trials beset him on the way? 

4. What dangers confronted him, and what was the affliction 
that came to his home? 

5. How did he come to his death? Give the circumstances 
in detail. 

6. Tell of his triumphant death. 

Chapter XXVII. 

1. When and where was D. Shuck born, and when did he en- 
ter the Church and ministry? 

2. Briefly outline his career from 1844 to 1858. 

3. Tell of his work in Missouri and trace him on the district. 

4. When and for what purpose did he go to the coast? Ex- 
plain the nature of his work. 

5. Describe his trip to Oregon in a buggy, the camp-meetings 
visited, the holding of Oregon Conference, and his return. 

6. Where and how was he robbed on this trip? 

7. What was his support? 

8. When was he translated? 

9. What special points or characteristics in the lives of these 
two heroes impress you as most valuable? 

Chapter XXVIII. 

1. Divide the hardships endured by the colonists in their 
journey to Oregon. 

2. What did J. Kenoyer do to help support his family? 

3. What did he do for Western Oregon? 

4. What was Ir's relation later with Cascade Conference? 

5. What does Mr. Gallaher say about him? 

6. What of his pulpit ability? Tell about his visit to camp- 
meeting. 

7. How did the preachers travel? 

8. Were the pioneers hanpv in their work? 

9. Tell some of C. C. Bell's early experiences, his support, 
travels, etc. 

10. How did his pastors fare when he was presiding elder? 
What of his own work and support? 

11. How did Bishop Castle view the field? 

12. What is said about the teachers in Philomath College? 

13. Give something of H. S. Epperly's life. 

14. What of his last days? 

304 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

Columbia River Conference Heroes. 

A brother writes : "Seldom, if ever, in modern 
times, has it fallen to the lot of ministers to suf- 
fer more among civilized people than have the 
representatives of the United Brethren Church 
in far-away Columbia River, first known as 
Osage Conference." 

While the Missionary Board was sadly lim- 
ited in funds, and could give but little aid to its 
workers, it must be remembered that those 
among whom they labored were also pioneers, 
and consequently unable to support their pas- 
tor in anything like a creditable manner. Under 
such conditions the best and 
Trying strongest preachers were com- 

Circumstances ° J - 

pelled, at times, to turn aside to 
secular pursuits. Other denominations, who 
understood better than we the value of home 
missions, and who contributed largely to the 
same, were able to keep their missionaries in the 
field. By so doing, they steadily grew, and with 
their growth their claims upon United Brethren 
were greatly strengthened; for, if they erected 
churches in which to worship, and provided par- 
sonages, and an adequate material support for 
their preachers, did they not have a right to ex- 
pect the sympathy and assistance of those to 
whom they ministered? Is it not natural for 

305 



Our Heroes, or 

Christians to go where their spiritual needs are 
supplied? 

The first United Brethren missionary to 

Washington Territory was William Daugh- 

erty. He was sent from Oregon 

The First in Conference in 1863. At that time 

Washington 

the settlements were few and 
widely separated. A person might have trav- 
eled a whole day, and in some directions for 
days, over mountains or along winding rivers, 
without seeing a house, or a single human being. 
After searching out the country for a year or 
more, Mr. Daugherty returned to Oregon, and 
reported the outlook, which led the conference 
to send another worker in the person of 
Washington Adams. 

The first missionary, however, was not per- 
mitted to return. During one of his long rides 
through a desert place where no water could be 
had, he became so thirsty that when he did find 
water he drank too much, and in a few weeks 
died from the effects. But his end 
victory in wag pea ce. That faith which had 

Death r 

so characterized him in his life- 
work, was all victorious when the last solemn 
ordeal came, enabling him to shout, "Stars in 
my crown ! stars in my crown !" 

When Mr. Adams saw the greatness of the 
new country, and the absolute need of reinforce- 
ments, he appealed to the presiding elder of 
Oregon Conference, J. Kenoyer, to come to 
his assistance. The old hero not only heard, but 
heeded the Macedonian cry, and in a few weeks 

306 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

was on the ground ready for whatever might 
come in the line of duty. Later these workers 
were joined by O. Osborn, S. Coston, and J. J. 
Gallaher, the last named being a quarterly-con- 
ference preacher. 

In 1865 Bishop Shuck organized the Cascade 
Conference, with three missions. Kenoyer was 
cascade elected presiding elder. Walla 

conference Walla and Touchet missions were 

Organized giyen to g Coston, with J. J. 

Gallaher as assistant. Umatilla was left un- 
supplied, but was blessed through the winter 
with the labors of the elder who, having visited 
it, was snow-bound for many weeks. 

In speaking of the early years of the confer- 
ence, J. J. Gallaher says the fields of labor 
were exceedingly large, extending from fifty to 
one hundred miles, and that in making long 
trips in mid- winter he more than once froze his 
hands and face. His first year's salary was 
$150; the next $45, while the third year it was 
pushed up again to $108. By way of supple- 
menting this pittance he taught a class or two 
in vocal music. He was compelled to do some- 
thing besides preaching. And so were all his 
brethren. 

J. S. RHOADS 

Many items connected with the early work of 
this conference, which, we are sure, will interest 
the reader, are furnished by J. S. Khoads. 
Himself converted at a great camp-meeting on 
the coast, and licensed to preach in 1868 by 

307 



Our Heroes, or 

Bishop Shuck, his observations and experiences 
reaching back nearly forty years, will prove 
most helpful and instructive to the student of 
pioneer days. 

Mr. Rhoads married the third daughter of 
J. Kenoyer, and so is able to furnish im- 
portant data respecting his father-in-law, which 
is noted under another heading. It is exceed- 
ingly fortunate for many a preacher that his 
wife grew up in a minister's home, having been 
thus prepared for the peculiar trials and respon- 
sibilities of a life so very impor- 

wufe 1 t,lfUl tant to the Church - Speaking of 
his wife, Mr. Rhoads says: "She 
began life as the daughter of a minister, and 
will die the wife of one. For the Church she 
has done much, suffered much, and sacrificed all. 
She has gone with me through all these years on 
and up." What a beautiful and justly merited 
tribute to a helper so faithful and devoted. 

One of the early and most devoted mission- 
aries to Oregon and Washington was Wil- 
liam Gallaher, a native of Illinois. For many 
years the echo of his stentorian voice was heard 
among the mountains of the coast, and the scat- 
tered churches, many of them weak and dis- 
pirited, were thrilled and encour- 
Hef °er rl aged by his presence and person- 

ality. Mr. Ehoads refers to him as 
"one of the safest counselors, soundest Bible 
preachers, and most successful revivalist con- 
nected with the early history of the Columbia 
River work. God endowed him with splendid 

308 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

gifts as a minister, and gave him a definite re- 
ligious experience preparatory to his career as 
a gospel pioneer. After long years of service his 
testimony is : "I have preached in this field when 
the laborers were few. If my memory serves 
me well, there were two years when the presid- 
ing elder and myself were the only men in the 
work. We preached amid great difficulties, and 
endured great hardships. " 

Such were the experiences of many others. 
We regret very much that for want of space all 
the worthies of early times, both East and West, 
cannot be mentioned in this volume. 

When one of the pastors returned home, after 

a long absence, he found the fare of the family 

reduced to potatoes. When he sat 

Dowa to down to the frugal repast he was 

Potatoes ° ^ 

so overcome that he could not eat. 
Turning to his companion in sacrifice he said: 
"Wife, I can't stand this any longer. I can do 
better for you and the babies by quitting the pul- 
pit and working with my hands." The answer 
was just what might have been expected from 
an angel of God. "No, dear, no. I'd rather live 
on bread and water than have you give up your 
work." 

One of the presiding elders was so sickened 
over the hardships of his pastors and their fam- 
ilies that he resigned his office, and refused to 
serve longer. It was hard to keep men at work 
under such conditions. The wonder is that any 
stayed. Only those who were under the "woe is 
me if I preach not the gospel" remained long to 

309 



Our Heroes, or 

fight against the tremendous odds which con- 
fronted them. 

One of the preachers during a long journey 
"fell among thieves" and narrowly escaped with 
his life. The objective point was one hundred 
and seventy-five miles distant. The first day he 
traveled on mule-back fifty miles, and slept in 
the open with his saddle for a pillow, and his 

blanket for a bed. The next night 
Among: k e lodged i n a haymow, owned by a 

highwayman of the worst sort. He 
and two Indians, a little while before, as was 
learned afterwards, had robbed a cattle-buyer of 
a large sum of money and ultimately were sent 
to prison for the crime. 

Before daylight the next morning the preacher 
was out and on his way, little thinking, perhaps, 
of any danger that might befall him. Two miles 
distant, as he approached the banks of the Col- 
umbia Eiver, his mule suddenly dashed out of 
the road, and made a circuit of a hundred yards, 
or more, before reentering the highway. The 

rider was puzzled to understand 
waylaid the animal's behavior. When in 

the road again, however, he looked 
back and observed in the early twilight, which 
was reflected upon the bosom of the stream, 
three men in concealment under the bank, and 
within a few feet of where they thought the 
traveler must pass. Fortunately, they had 
been eluded by the instincts of the faith- 
ful animal. But all was not over. In a few 
minutes the preacher heard a "whoop" behind 

310 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

him, and, looking back, saw an Indian on a 
pony pursuing at full speed. He knew some- 
thing would have to be done quickly, but what 
that "something" would be was a most serious 
problem. There was no doubt in his mind but 
what the mule in a long race would distance the 
pony, but in a short run he feared results. So 
he decided to appear as indifferent as possible, 
and let the red rascal come up to his side and 
then employ whatever strategy he could to pre- 
vent immediate hostilities. He addressed the 
Indian in his own tongue, but got no reply, 
which indicated a sulky mood on 

Frfnt* the P art ° f the red Skin ' Theil > 

remembering an old saying among 
frontiersmen, "As long as you can get an Indian 
to eat, he will not harm you," he untied 
a loaf of bread, which was hanging to his 
saddle, and offered it to him, but the hospitality 
was spurned at first. All this time they were 
hurrying along — the mule in a trot, and the pony 
in a gallop. Finally, the loaf was accepted and 
eagerly devoured in a little while by the hungry 
savage. Then he began to talk, telling the 
preacher how strong and brave "Indian" was, 
exhibiting at the same time the muscles of his 
bare arm. The preacher retorted by telling him 

how strong and brave "white man" 
Eludes the wag j n j^ e meantime he rode as 

Enemy 

close to his unwelcome comrade 
as he could get, that he might be able to grapple 
with him in case an attempt were made to use 
knife or gun. Observing that the pony was weary 

311 



Our Heroes, or 

and panting for breath, the intrepid itinerant 
saw his opportunity and vigorously spurred his 
mule, which darted away at full speed. The 
Indian, disappointed and angry, sprang from 
his pony and thrashed it furiously with his raw- 
hide thongs, then renewed the pursuit; but all 
in vain. The mule was speeding away at a gait 
not to be overtaken, and so saved the life of the 
itinerant. 

In 1879 J. H. Vandever wrote from 
Walla Walla : "Here we are in the midst of this 
mass of dying men, without churches, and almost 
without means. What can we do? My heart is 
broken, and my very soul is over- 
signmcant whelmed when I think of the desti- 

Letters 

tution of this country. ' A year 
latejr the presiding elder of the conference wrote 
the Missionary Secretary as follows: "This is a 
hard year on itinerants. Much damage has been 
done by high waters, and there seems to be no 
money for the preacher or the church." 

These reports lift the curtain and give us a 
glimpse of what it meant to serve the conference 
in those trying days. At the same time they 
show how pluckily our men endured rather than 
vacate the ground which they had been able to 

occupy at so great a personal cost. 

Me h a l ServiCe A few were Philosophers enough 
to understand that the best and 
surest way to save one's life is to give it for 
others. And this self giving of our own, as well 
as of other missionaries, not only on the coast 
but from sea to sea, will, in the end, constitute 

312 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

one of the most thrilling chapters in America's 
redemption. 

We hear much said, and justly, too, of the 
heroic spirit which leads the missionary on for- 
eign shores to press his way into forest and 
jungle, among uncivilized tribes, that he may 
preach the word and offer salvation to the be- 
nighted; but just as much devotion and heroism 
have been displayed among American frontiers- 
men in giving the gospel to their fellows, and in 
making their country the richest and most invit- 
ing beneath the sun. In so far as the matter of 
financial remuneration is involved, many of our 
home toilers make far greater sacrifices than do 
any who work abroad. To the records for the 
proof. 

At this time the coast work is problematic — 
exceedingly so — and the reasons are apparent. 
Lack of support tells the whole story. "Twenty- 
five years of constant work on the coast/' writes 
a brother, "has proven to me that it is not every 
man that will stick to the ministry here. Many 
are willing to taste its experiences; others will 
consent to live on them for a few 
a Test of years, but the cases are rare where 

Courage ^ 7 

men have been willing to make 
them their constant diet for a quarter of a cen- 
tury. While I have been, I trust, fairly cour- 
ageous for the United Brethren Church on the 
coast, yet I must confess that within the last 
few years my faith in the work has been severely 
tried. The occasion for this has been my fears 
that the Church in the East would not rise to 

313 



Our Heroes, or 

the needs of the field, and thus permit all these 
years of toil and sacrifice to be lost to our cause, 
if not to the kingdom of Christ. The future will 
tell as to whether my fears have been well 
founded or not." 

That the Church in the East does not fully 
realize the needs of the West, and the vast op- 
portunities constantly opening up before us, is 
sadly true. For every hundred dollars appro- 
priated by the Board west of the 
N^def elP Mississippi, a thousand should be 
spent; and even then the real de- 
mands of the work would not be met. The 
problem of securing to the Church permanency 
and expansion in this rapidly-growing section 
can be solved only through the agency of Home 
Missions. 

This is the time for the great conferences of 
the Church to fly to the relief of the little, strug- 
gling missions throughout the West and South. 

God's plan is for the strong to help the weak, 
for the rich to aid the poor, and for the old to 
care for the young. Shall we carry out the di- 
vine program? Everything depends upon it. 



314 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Oar First Workers in Oklahoma 

As might have been expected, many of our 
people in Kansas, and other adjacent States, 
turned their faces toward Oklahoma when it was 
opened for settlement in 1889, to secure homes, 
and to contribute, as far as might be, to the de- 
velopment and permanency of what was soon to 
become a great commonwealth in the sisterhood 
of States. Its climate was known 

Oklahoma t(> fee health f ul ^fl itg goil rich 

Attractive 7 

and productive. Even the name 
"Oklahoma" — "Beautiful Land" — had its 
charm, and lured many a denizen from farm and 
village to seek the goodly place. The preachers 
who followed became real pioneers, and sub- 
jected themselves to all the danger and privations 
and inconveniences incident to settlement in a 
new country. 

J. M. L.INSEY 

Mr. Linsey moved from Kansas to Oklahoma 
in 1889, shortly after the territory was opened 
for occupancy, and located near Hennessey. At 
this time, however, he was not a minister, but 
soon after settling in his new quarters was li- 
censed to preach, and so has the distinction of 
being the first United Brethren to enter the min- 
isterial ranks in the new country. Two days 

315 



Our Heroes, or 

after his arrival, though only a layman, he held 

a prayer-meeting at a neighbor's house, and such 

was the interest aroused that an 

homs First appointment was made for the 

Prayer-Meeting ^^ 

next Thursday evening in another 
private home. The man of the house was con- 
verted that night — possibly the first public pro- 
fession ever made by any one in the community. 
It is praiseworthy in Mr. Linsey that he was 
deeply affected by the great spiritual destitution 
of the people, and decided to make preaching his 
life work. The prayer and social meetings were 
kept up all winter, resulting in many conver- 
sions, and forming a nucleus around which 
United Brethrenism was to be built up in Okla- 
homa. In early spring a rude church-edifice was 
constructed out of logs, with a dirt floor and 
rough board seats. 

Mr. Linsey's first circuit, called Cooper Creek, 
furnished abundant opportunity for work, but 
gave very little of the material in return. Every- 
body was poor. During the year he traveled 
nearly four thousand miles in filling his appoint- 
ments. For the first two years he received f 176. 
He writes: "How earnestly we prayed and be- 
sought the General Church to come 
Help m to our relief in Oklahoma. Towns 

Prayed For 

were springing up like magic every- 
where, but we could not enter them for want of 
money and men. The heart grew sick as we saw 
other churches gathering in our members — 
garnering the fruits of our earnest toil. The few 
men we had were doing their best, some of them 

316 



United Brethren Rome Missionaries 

going almost day and night, but the task was 
too great. Often Father West, the first presid- 
ing elder, and his dear old companion, would 
have to camp by the roadside over night on the 
way from one quarterly to another. They did 
not expect a thousand dollars, but were satisfied 
with $200." 

So the work was carried forward. Great re- 
vivals were promoted, and marvelous conver- 
sions witnessed; but somebody was willing to 
pay the price, and did. On his way 
Dangers £ £n engagements on one occasion, 

Encountered . . . . , 

m company with his wife, Mr. 
Linsey found the Cimarron River too deep to 
ford, so he went some miles to another place, 
but found it no better there. Being anxious to 
get over, he plunged in and swam his team a 
good part of the way across. The current 
washed some things they were carrying out of 
the buggy, and almost upset the vehicle in the 
midst of the tide. It was a time when steady 
nerves were required. Upon reaching the shore, 
Mrs. Linsey fainted in the arms of her husband, 
as the result of the fearful strain she endured 
while passing through the exciting ordeal. 

Other and similar experiences are recited by 
Mr. Linsey. The whole way of pioneer work was 
rough and toilsome. Only those run in a heroic 
mold are fit for the frontier. There must be 
sweat and blood and faith and devotion in the 
mortar if the foundations are to be strong and 
abiding. 



317 



Our Heroes, or 

D. Ii. DOUB 

Among the first to pitch his tent in Oklahoma, 
and to give himself unreservedly to missionary 
work, was D. L. Doub. At the close of the 
old Kansas Conference session, held at Lecomp- 
ton in September, 1892, he started for McLoud — 
a distance of nearly five hundred miles. A 
spring- wagon was secured for the trip, and such 
articles stored therein as the preacher and fam- 
ily, three in number, would need for their over- 
land journey. Carrying with them a small tent, 
they were prepared to camp out at 
MoTing in night. The first Sabbath was spent 

a Wagon ° Jr 

just south of the Kansas line, in 
what was known as the Cherokee Indian Strip. 
The time was occupied in reading, prayer, and 
meditation. Nothing unusual occurred except 
that a hoop snake, three feet long, with its poi- 
sonous stinger, was found crawling among the 
pillows which had been thrown upon the grass. 
The next night they lodged within the Oto Reser- 
vation. Soon after dark it began to rain, and 
when Mr. Doub awoke his feet were lying in the 
water, which had stolen into the tent and satu- 
rated their bed. 

In speaking of the trip Mr. Doub says : "The 
last day, especially, was long and wearisome. 
We had to cross the Kickapoo Indian Reserva- 
tion — a distance of thirty miles. 
Among the T]ie ra i n f a n continued all day. In- 

Indians . ^ 

dians were to be seen all along the 
way, but not a single white man was found 
until late in the evening. We had great diffl- 

318 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

culty in keeping in the right track, as there were 
only dim Indian trails to follow. These crossed 
each other so frequently that we could hardly 
be sure of our course at any time. As we could 
not speak the Indian language, and they would 
not speak ours, if they knew it, we were left to 
do the best we could. The Kickapoos were a bad 
tribe, and had made the Government much 
trouble, so it was but natural for us to keep an 
eye on them, and to make the best time possible 
in order to get out of their domain. Late at 
night we found a log cabin of one room occupied 
by a widow, and were reluctantly taken in. 
Making our bed on the floor by the stove, we 
removed our wet clothing and lay down to rest 
and slumber. How thankful we were for a log 
cabin to shelter us from the storm !" 

In a few days the preacher, having reached his 
objective point, had selected a "claim" which an- 
other was willing to relinquish for a small sum. 
Pitching their tent for a couple of 
Destination weeks they constructed a log house, 

Reached J . 

and partly covered it with clap- 
boards ; but before it was done they started out 
to do missionary work. Going some forty miles 
to Edmond, they found a destitute settlement, 
and at once began a meeting, which resulted in 

an organization of twenty mem- 
work bers. Other points in time were 

Begun x 

added, so that the preacher found 
it necessary to make the trip every two weeks in 
ministering to the converts won in his first cam- 
paign for souls. About fifteen miles of his route 

319 



Our Heroes, or 

lay through the Kickapoo Reservation, and fre- 
quently he and his family camped out in these 
wilds over night, sleeping on the ground beneath 
their buggy. They were thus not only exposed 
to the pilfering Indians, but to dangerous an- 
imals which infested the country, such as wolves 
and panthers. Once in a while a 
Wi ? d stray mountain lion was seen. Dur- 

ing his first year there a young lady 
was dragged from her horse by a vicious panther, 
as she was going home one night from a dance, 
and partly eaten before found by her friends. 

For two or three years Mr. Doub remained on 
his land, preaching the word here and there to 
as many as would hear it. With no appropri- 
ation from any source, and receiving only $80 
for the first three years' work, it was well to own 
a bit of real estate on which to live, if nothing 
more. It became necessary for the good wife to 
teach school, and thus supplement, in an addi- 
tional way, the little on which they had to sub- 
sist. 

Mr. Doub did not go to the new Territory pri- 
marily to get land, but to preach. The land 
merely helped him to provide, in a way, for his 
family while he continued his missionary labors. 
It was under such circumstances as these, while 
so peculiarly surrounded, that the 

Death in tria j Q f hig j ife came# qy^ ^^f^ 

the Home 

angel, one sad day, knocked at the 
door of their humble home, and with icy fingers 
arrested the heart-throb of the wife and mother. 



320 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Then it was that the lonely herald, far out on 
the frontier, cried up to God through the shad- 
ows, as never before, for a guiding hand and for 
sustaining grace. 

With the loved one laid away to rest, and with 
a renewed consecration to the work of soul-win- 
ning, he gave himself anew to the mission on 
which the Great Father had sent him, and so 
continues therein to this day. 

He was soon elected presiding elder and served 
a district eight years. While in this capacity his 
soul was often tried and his physical strength 
thoroughly tested. At this time railroad advan- 
tages were exceedingly limited, as they are yet 
in some portions of the State, hence, he was com- 
pelled to travel by private conveyance. Indeed, 
if public transportation facilities had been ever 
so abundant, he could not have 
District profited by them, as he did not 

Work f J , , . - mi 

have money to pay his fare. The 
distances were great, the roads bad in winter, 
and many of the streams treacherous and dan- 
gerous. He carried with him an ax and gun. 
The former he needed often to clear away the 
brush when, on account of high water or muddy 
roads, he was compelled to turn aside from the 
main highway ; the latter was useful in bringing 
down game when it came in his way. As he 
traveled in a wagon, the ax sometimes proved 
useful also when repairs had to be made. 

More than once his life was imperiled in cross- 
ing the Cimarron and South Canadian rivers. In 
some cases the stretch between quarterlies was 

321 



Our Heroes, or 

so great that he had to carry food for his ponies 
and a lunch for himself, and camp out on the 

plains alone through the night. 
i^eriied This was genuine frontier work, 

though it occurred only a few 
years ago. As the brother looks back over 
those harrowing experiences, he is made to see, 
more and more, the good hand of God, which led 
him in the right way, and so graciously pre- 
served his life. 

The first year as superintendent he received 
from the conference and General Board, $180. 
For the next two years it was $200 each, and 
thereafter a trifle higher. But he lived, sup- 
ported his family, and was happy in his ap- 
pointed work. 

J. H. DARR 

Heroism lends charm to history; or, to be 
more exact, we may say it makes history. The 
student of the past has but little interest in the 
life that was destitute of this exalted element. 
For want of a better interpretation, we define 
true heroism to be the soul's best 
Heroism impulse — that glow and warmth 

Defined ^ ° 

which the Infinite imparts to man, 
his noblest creature. It is seen in the lower 
walks of life, as well as in the higher; in the 
humble peasant as well as in the dashing chief- 
tain who wins on the field of battle. No general 
ever displayed more heroism than did the early 
preachers in the United Brethren Church, and 
those, as well, who yet serve in frontier fields. 

322 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

They have gloried in whatever exalted Christ, 
and made his cross the symbol of death to sin. 
Love of ease and pleasure and fame has never 
lured many of them from the path of duty, or 
caused them to grow weary of their God-ap- 
pointed task. 

J. H. Darr moved from Iowa to Okla- 
homa in 1893. His bold, daring spirit suited 
him to a new country, and to the hardships it 
invariably entails. Though sixty years old he 
entered as heartily into the work as did the 
younger men, and for several years made a noble 
record in missionary labors. He was known 
frequently to drive his team all night to reach 
his appointments the next day, or to get to the 
bedside of his sick wife. Once in crossing the 
North Canadian River his ponies 
In Riv^r ired m i re d in the quicksand, and seeing 
the danger they were in, he plunged 
into the water to his armpits and re- 
leased them from the carriage, thus enabling 
them to get to shore. After landing his buggy 
he drove on to his appointment, some miles dis- 
tant, where he preached in his wet clothes to an 
expectant audience. 

He even made friends among the Indians, who 
learned to respect him, and in one instance, 
especially, showed a readiness to fight for his 
protection. The circumstance was 
Fri e en I ^ ian8, as follows: One morning before 
daylight, while driving homeward, 
armed highwaymen attempted to hold him up, 
but his horses dashed away from them and 

323 



Our Heroes, or 

made sure his escape. In a few moments he ran 
on to some of his red-skinned friends whose at- 
tention had been attracted by the preacher's calls 
for help, and, possibly, the firing of guns. When 
they found who he was, and what had happened, 
they were bent on avenging the wrong ; but the 
messenger of peace, whose mission was to save 
men rather than kill them, dissuaded them from 
any such bloody intent. 

Sometimes he went when, perhaps, he should 
have stayed at home. He suffered frequently 
and much from heart trouble. In going from 
one of his appointments to another, on one oc- 
casion, he was overcome by the dread disease, 
and when found by some traveler was lying 
partly out of his buggy in an unconscious con- 
dition. His trusted team was still jogging along 
in the right direction the same as if the owner's 
hand had been guiding them. 

For all his work and travel, by day and by 
night, through sunshine and storm, in the midst 
of peril and affliction, the veteran received less 
than $200 a year upon an average. Poor pay, 
hard work, glorious revivals — a singular combi- 
nation, as some might view it, but one that filled 
the hero's heart with abounding joy. 

Many other brethren who toiled in the found- 
ing of the Church in Oklahoma deserve notice in 
this connection, but chapters would 
otke* Faithful be reqn ired to tell it all. A. C. 

Ones l 

West, W. M. Tillbury, P. B. Gould, 
W. M. Ayers, J. Barricklow, andR. H. Stokes- 
berry were on the ground early, and did noble 

324 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

service. The conference was organized in 1897, 
and is making splendid progress, though at tre- 
mendous cost on the part of the faithful men who 
are doing the work. The present appropriation by 
the Parent Board of $2,000 a year ought to be 
multiplied several times over, if we are to occupy 
all the places where the Church is needed and 
called for in the new State. 



325 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Our Debt to the Pioneer. 

From the standpoint of both religion and 
patriotism we owe a debt of gratitude to the 
noble pioneers who blazed the way across the 
continent from east to west for our glorious 
civilization, and who made possible the achieve- 
ments which have so distinguished us as a na- 
tion. 

The home missionary has always been at the 
front, and has proven himself a factor of great 
potency in molding the characters and shaping 
the destinies of new emigrant communities. 
They not only loved the church, but they also 
Loyai to loved their country's flag. The lit- 

church and tie schoolhouses and church-edifices 
built by them, in the long ago, have 
enlarged and developed into great institutions 
of learning, and magnificent temples of worship. 
Of all these we are justly proud. Their very 
presence kindles within the bosom feelings of ad- 
miration, and leads us to exclaim, "See what God 
hath wrought." But we must not forget that 
these churches and schools of higher learning 
are largely the product of the humble mission- 
ary who was among the very first to construct 
his sod house on the prairie, or to plunge into 
the forest and build the log cabin. 

326 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

J. H. Snyder, in a ringing address before 
the Southwest Kansas Conference, on the occa- 
sion of its quarter-centennial celebration, in 
1907, said: "Historians delight in 
a Brilliant recording the deeds of valorous 

Tribute & . 

warriors, of eminent service in 
statesmanship. Every student is familiar with 
the name of Leonidas, the brave Spartan, who 
fell at Thermopylae ; of Hannibal, who dared the 
Hellespont ; of Napoleon, who scaled the rugged 
Alps ; of Washington and the patriots at Valley 
Forge; of Grant, the victor at Appomattox; of 
Sheridan, the storm center at Winchester; of 
Sherman, who led his legions down to the sea ; of 
Lee and Jackson and their brave comrades- — 
these were heroes of war. In statesmanship the 
world has had its Gladstone, its Pitt, its Patrick 
Henry, its Webster and Clay, its Jefferson and 
Lincoln; but how about the heroes of the Cross? 
We are pointed to the achievements of the gos- 
pel over ignorance and superstition; to trans- 
formed communities where heathen customs 
have given way to Christian civilization; but 
who were the pioneers in these social and ethical 
movements? 

"We have read with delight the life and labors 
of John G. Paton, the apostle of the New Heb- 
rides ; of John Hunt among the ferocious canni- 
bals of Fiji; of Mackay on the Is- 
Abroad StS land of Formosa; of Livingstone 

and of Moffatt in the wilds of Cen- 
tral Africa; of Judson in India — indeed, of hun- 
dreds whose names have been heralded to coming 

327 



Our Heroes, or 

ages, whose deeds have been more chivalrous 
than those upon the field of carnal strife, or 
within the halls of national legislation ; but how 
about those pioneers in our own dear land — pio- 
neers whose deeds were so noble, whose sacrifices 
were so great, and whose crowns are now so 
lustrous? Men who wrought nobly in their day, 

" 'Then sank into their native clay/ 

"Is it enough that their names are recorded in 
the 'Book of Life 5 ? Shall the tramp, tramp, 
tramp of the sacramental host pass over the 
fields where they wept and plead and fell at last 
as martyrs to the divine call of the gospel, with- 
out a thought of the cost of their blessings, or of 
the distinguished lives which wrought out our 
exalted privileges ?" 

The home missionaries have done more than 
any others to promote the nation's greatness, 
Honor the an d to make its Protestantism in- 

Home fluential and mighty; but hitherto 

they have received only stinted 
credit. We have been inclined to look beyond 
the seas for the hero. A few of our pioneers, 
like Doctor Whitman, have been accorded a 
place in our country's annals, but the vast ma- 
jority of them have been forgotten — yes, forgot- 
ten, though they were good, and brave, and vic- 
torious. 

Our frontiersmen in Christian service to-day 
are not appreciated by the Church at large, be- 
cause the nature of their work is not rightly un- 
derstood. The great body of United Brethren 

328 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

have but little conception of what it means to 
itinerate in some of the western and southern 
conferences. They would stand appalled if they 
could enter the homes of some of our faithful 
workers and once observe their scant supply of 
furniture, raiment, and other comforts. They 
are in the work for Jesus' sake. To build up the 
Zion to which they have plighted fidelity for all 
time is more to them than to accumulate abund- 
ant riches. 

"If in civic affairs the heroic are honored, and 
their names are heralded abroad as synonyms of 
manly courage, and models of worthy emula- 
tion/' do not the noble cavaliers at the front, 
where the battle never abates, and 
aii on the where "restful days come not this 

Altar J 

side the grave," deserve great 
praise for that strength of brain and heart and 
life which they have so unreservedly consecrated 
upon the altars of the church? That their 
names are written among the stars, no one can 
doubt ; that they deserve to be there, no one will 
question. 



329 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

The Harvest 

Our country owes its greatness, largely, to 
Home Missions — a fact not understood and ap- 
preciated by the masses. The first and most im- 
portant thing in a community is to plant a Chris- 
Home Mission tian church, which invariably be- 
and ow comes a center of good morals and 

civic virtues. Man must worship 
or retrograde in his nature. The highest alti- 
tude of a noble manhood can be reached only by 
the soul rising Godward. It is impossible for 
men to be brought into right relations with each 
other until they recognize their true relationship 
to the Infinite. Hence, as Christian communi- 
ties are multiplied, the State becomes Christian, 
and such commonwealths increased in number 
make a nation righteous and powerful. 

In ecclesiastical affairs we have an exact par- 
allel. The founding of churches must precede 
everything else. Even foreign mission work is 
Home Missions impossible in the absence of the 
and the home church, which must furnish 

the workers and guarantee their 
support. Foreign missions are logically and 
necessarily the products of home missions. The 
same thing is true in our educational undertak- 
ings. The planting of churches must come first, 

330 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

both as to time and importance, since we must 
look to these for students, and the money with 
which to build and endow. This philosophy like- 
wise holds good in relation to our publishing in- 
terests. We must first have church organiza- 
tions and Sabbath schools, before we can hope 
to circulate the Religious Telescope and other 
periodicals. It were vain to try to produce a 
book literature without a reading constituency. 
True it is that the college and publishing plant 
are tremendous factors in making a denomina- 
tion strong and prosperous; and no church 
merits success, or even an existence, that does 
not provide such helps; but before every other 
agency comes the missionary who prepares the 
soil and scatters the fruitful seed. 

We have shown in the preceding chapters 
what it cost the pioneers to lay the foundations 
of the Church, and to blaze the way for its for- 
ward march along side of other and similar 
forces which have been so potent in making the 
nation great. Now we change the 
view point viewpoint. It is well for a church 

Changed x 

occasionally to measure itself, and 
take an inventory of its assets. In this respect, 
however, the United Brethren Church has hith- 
erto been exceedingly modest — too much so, in- 
deed. She has always been slow to advertise her 
"towers" and "bulwarks" and "palaces." 

Our expenditures for home missions have been 
comparatively small. Up to 1853 no systematic 
plan was in vogue for the collection and disburs- 
ing of missionary funds, and prior to that the 

331 



Our Heroes, or 

Church's growth had been exceedingly slow. 
The entire membership was only 47,000. The 
number of church-houses was very little, if any 
above five hundred, with only here and there a 
parsonage. The Publishing House could only 
muster assets to the amount of $13,000. The 
Religious Telescope was a four-page paper, with 
a circulation of about five thousand copies. In 
fact, we scarcely had enough to make a record 
of. As yet there were no organized connectional 
departments. Some of the conferences raised a 
little missionary money, but used it mainly for 
local purposes. 

In point of equipments, such as are essential 
to aggressive, thorough-going work, we were 
meagerly supplied. But what has come to pass 
since then? What the progress made? As the 
Missionary Society began to gather funds, and 
distributed them here and there, 
ch«7eh ° f though in small sums, for the ex- 

tension of the Church's borders, its 
life-throb was felt in fields that never could have 
been occupied in the absence of such an agency. 
During the first four years of its history new 
missions were opened in Oregon, Michigan, Mis- 
souri, Nebraska, Kansas, and Canada. The 
Church Erection Society has also wrought nobly 
in the department of home missions by way of 
housing and making permanent the congrega- 
tions organized in the new territories we now 
occupy. 

East of the Mississippi the Church is particu- 
larly strong. In Pennsylvania, including the 

332 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

District of Columbia, and small portions of 
Maryland and New York, the membership is 
60,000. The church-houses numbering 530, and 
the parsonages, numbering 201, are valued at 
present $2,765,117. In Ohio the communi- 

strength of cants aggregate 64,500, while the 
churches, 682, and the parsonages, 
159, are worth $2,304,000. Indiana, Illinois, 
Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota contain a 
membership, all told, of 72,000, with 915 church- 
es and 241 parsonages worth $2,000,000. In the 
South, including the Virginias, the total enroll- 
ment of members is 34,000. These own 446 
church-edifices, and 77 parsonages, valued at 
$617,712. Between the Mississippi and the 
Rockies, the territory embraced in the West Dis- 
trict, and a most promising home mission field, 
we have 39,000 adherents who control 570 
church-buildings, and 225 manses, listed at 
$1,335,106. Beyond the Rockies we operate in 
California, Oregon, and Washington, with a 
membership of 3,500. The fifty churches and 
thirty-six parsonages there are put down at 
$214,030. The foregoing figures thrown together 
give us, in the United States, approximately 
275,000 members, with church- and parsonage- 
buildings worth $9,250,000. 

Fifty years ago the educational facilities of 
the Church were sadly limited, both in the num- 
ber and character of its institu- 
institattoiis tions ; now we have a full dozen of 
these, which are valued above 
$1,000,000. Possibly we have too many. Less 

333 



Our Heroes, or 

money spent on buildings, and larger sums ex- 
pended on equipments, might mean more for the 
Church. 

A magnificent Publishing House, worth $1,- 
000,000, has grown out of the little plant rated 
at |13,000 in 1853. 

It is in place also to mention the grand Sun- 
day-school army of the Church, 342,500 strong, 
and the Young People's organizations which 
have enrolled a membership of 83,700. 

These statements, showing the steady, solid 
growth of the Church, abundantly demonstrate 
what has been gained through the unceasing toil, 
and unflinching fidelity of her pioneer sons and 
daughters. They also show clearly the value of 
home missions. We have a splen- 
Kansas and ^^ ex ample in Kansas, where the 

Home Missions x 7 

Board has spent more money in the 
last half century than in any other State. The 
net amount appropriated foots up $47,709.32. 

This may appear to some as quite an outlay 
for a small church; but what we have in the 
"Sunflower State" proves that the expenditure 
was worth while. The church-membership is 
nearly 16,000, and the Sabbath-school enroll- 
ment 21,800. The 284 churches and parsonages 
are worth |446,105. Besides these we have 
Campbell College which, as an asset, may be put 
down at f 75,000. Nor is this all. Fully $20,000 
has gone from the State into the missionary 
treasury, saying nothing about the many thou- 
sands that have been contributed for foreign 
mission work through the Woman's Missionary 

334 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

Association, and to other general interests. For 
the year ending May 1, 1908, the appropriations 
of the Home Board to the State aggregated 
$1,300, while the returns foot up nearly $3,000. 
In view of these facts and figures do Home Mis- 
sions pay? Has the expenditure of $47,709.32 in 
Kansas been a profitable investment to the 
Church? We should say so. But much more 
could and would have been done if the gifts had 
been multiplied. 

Because of the inability of the Board to give 
the needed aid, many precious opportunities, in 
various portions of the country, have been let 
slip, and through such failures vast numbers of 
our people have been lost to the 
opportunities Church. We have not been able to 

Lost 

keep pace with the onward flow of 
emigration into new sections of the West. In 
many instances the doors have been effectually 
closed against us, and the losses thus sustained 
can never be retrieved. But other openings, big 
with promise, are presented, and challenge the 
loyalty of the Church. If we enter these, well 
and good ; if we do not, then God will thrust for- 
ward some other agency, put his blessing upon 
it, and compel us to stand aside. 

In this connection mention should be made of 
the fact that the most remarkable growth ever 

known in the Church during any 

ThLe e Year S ° f three J ears of her history, every- 
thing considered, has been expe- 
rienced since 1905, when the General Conference 
organized the Home Missionary Society into a 

335 



Our Heroes, or 

distinct department. During this period the 
most aggressive work has been done. Steps have 
been taken looking toward the planting of the 
Church in many of our great centers of popula- 
tion, and likewise in new sections of the country 
in need of religious workers, for the twofold 
purpose of securing permanency to the denomi- 
nation, and of enlarging her efficiency in soul- 
winning. 

In 1905 we had sixty-eight missionaries in the 
home land; now they number one hundred and 
twenty. And this force could be increased a 
dozenf old within a very short time if we had the 
funds with which to insure their support. In 
many of the mission fields the work has been 
greatly accentuated by old-time revivals, which 
came as the result of much faith and toil; and 
continued victories may be expected in propor- 
tion as men and money are consecrated to the 
work. Evidently a crisis period 
a crisis j iag come# The future of the 

Period 

Church depends largely upon what 
we do now. Intensified effort means an enlarged 
vision and greater achievements; a slackened 
hand means a retreat to the rear, and a loss of 
precious opportunities. 

We are glad that plans have already been per- 
fected for the organization of a mission district 

which will embrace western Okla- 
a New homa, formerly known as "No 

Conference ^ 

Man's Land/' the Texas panhandle, 
and eastern New Mexico. United Brethren by 
hundreds are moving into this part of the South- 

336 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

west, and are forming a nucleus around which 
we hope to build up a prosperous conference. 

As the country is new, it furnishes a genuine 

type of pioneer life. The "sod house" and "plank 

shack" of one room, many of them 

Genuine with dirt floors, mav be found by 

Fioneer Life 7 J " 

thousands. The people who have 
gone to the frontier, with rare exceptions, are a 
noble folk, and are deserving of praise for hav- 
ing given themselves to the task of developing 
and making fruitful and glorious these hitherto 
unsettled portions of our vast domain. In their 
splendid efforts to build up the kingdom of 
heaven in their midst, through the United Breth- 
ren Church, they merit, and should have the sym- 
pathy and unlimited cooperation of the older 
and stronger conferences. Those who help such 
struggling communities and colonies at a time 
like this, not only exhibit their devotion to the 
Church, but as well their patriotism and love of 
"native land." 

Great openings are presented in all the im- 
mense regions farther to the west and north- 
west; also in Arkansas, southeast Texas, and 

Louisiana. In the last-named 
Farther sonth State a vigorous little conference 

is already in operation, and is 
forging its way into destitute communities as 
rapidly as could be expected with the men and 
money at command. The spiritual needs there 
are especially great. In large portions of the 
State Protestantism is unknown. The French, 
who predominate, as a class, are as ignorant and 

337 



Our Heroes, or 

helpless as a vicious, debauched, imported priest- 
hood can keep them. Are they not our neigh- 
bors? And, if so, does not the very spirit of the 
gospel lay upon us the obligation of ministering 
to them? 

But why make particular mention of this or 
that section? No matter whither we turn, the 
same vision greets us — "fields already white to 
harvest." An eminent authority on religious 
statistics estimates that out of 87,000,000 of peo- 
ple in the United States at this time, only about 
21,000,000 are members of Protestant evangelical 
churches. What a field for evangelism the re- 
maining millions presents! Shall we marshal 
our forces, with other churches, for the redemp- 
tion of the home land? For, be it remembered 
that in so doing we contribute most to the 
universal spread of the truth. We shall become 
a world power in proportion as we become a 
home power. 

America is the key to the whole situation. 
Her position is strategic as a world power. 
Every time she speaks the nations of earth give 
heed. When she moves they hear 
America First *he tread of her advancing steps. 
Let her enthrone Jesus the Lord in 
all her social, commercial, political, and reli- 
gious affairs, and the very ends of the earth will 
hasten to join in the final coronation. 

The part of the United Brethren Church in 
bringing the glad day may be great and glori- 
ous, if she will but strengthen her agencies, and 
devote her money to so noble a cause. One dollar 

338 



United Brethren Home Missionaries 

per member, yearly, for the Home Mission Board 
should be the minimum offering. The interests 
a can to a * stake are many, mighty, and 

united eternal. We ean afford to give, 

and give heroically. Every indi- 
cation points to the fact that God is realigning 
his forces for a last, decisive conflict. United 
Brethren should get in line, for will not heaven 
expect such a church to be at the front when 
the final victory comes? 

"Onward ! upward ! throneward !" is the order 
which comes ringing down from the skies. In 
the meantime, we will remember the heroes of 
the past, and count it a privilege and joy to 
wreathe their brows with chaplets of praise. 

"For truth with tireless zeal they sought; 

In joyless paths they trod — 
Heedless of praise or blame they wrought, 

And left the rest to God. 
The lowliest sphere was not disdained; 

Where love could soothe or save, 
They went, by fearless faith sustained, 

Nor knew their deeds were brave. 



"No sculptured stone in stately temple 

Proclaims their rugged lot; 
Like Him who was their great example, 

This vain world knew them not. 
But though their names no poet wove 

In deathless song or story, 
Their record is inscribed above; 

Their wreaths are crowns of glory." 



339 



LESSON VIII. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

1. Tell something of the early history and difficulties of the 
work in Columbia River Conference. 

2. Who were the first preachers? Tell of Wm. Daugherty. 

3. When and by whom was the conference organized? 

4. What is said of J. J. Gallaher? 

5. What do you recall concerning J. S. Rhoads? 

6. What tribute is paid Wm. Gallaher? 

7. Tell of the privations some endured — what they had to 
eat. etc. 

8. Give the preacher's experience with highwaymen, Indiaus, 
etc. 

9. What was said by those who wrote of the work? 

10. Did the work test the courage of the pioneers? 

11. Do home missionaries suffer as much as do those who work 
in the foreign field? 

12. What of the coast work and' its needs? 

13. What is the duty of the Church toward it? 

CHAPTER XXX. 

1. What of Oklahoma? 

2. What United Brethren first preached there? 

3. Tell of the first prayer-meeting Mr. Linsey held and what 
followed. 

4. What was his first circuit and experiences thereon? 

5. Who was the first presiding elder? 

6. Give the preacher's experience in crossing the Cimarron 
River. 

7. Tell of Mr. Doub's trip to Oklahoma. 

8. Where did he settle and first begin to preach? 

9. What made camping out dangerous? 

10. Tell of the great sorrow that came to the missionary's life. 

11. Give his experience and support while a presiding elder. 

12. What other helpers joined them? 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

1. What do we as a Church and nation owe the pioneer? 

2. What tribute does Doctor Snyder pay these noble heroes? 

3. Do our home missionaries get the credit due them for 
their heroism and sacrifices? 

4. Does God honor them? 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
(Study this chapter ivell.) 

1. Show the importance of home missions to our country's 
growth and worth. 

2. Show the relation of home missions to the other great 
departments of the Church, like education, publishing interests, 
foreign missions, etc. 

3. What was the Church's strength before any home mission 
work was done? 

4. Show the strength of the Church now in sections named. 

5. What of the Colleges and Publishing House? 

6. What has home missions done for Kansas? 

7. What has Kansas done for the Church? 

8. What of the opportunities in the West? 

9. What has the Home Mission Board done since 1905? 

10. Is the way open to organize new conferences, and should it 
be done? 

11. What is said of pioneers and frontier life? 

12. Are the openings in the South hopeful? 

13. What is the call of the United Brethren Church, and what 
must she do? 

340 



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